


Blood Jumps in the Sun

by painted_lady12



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Bisexual Keith (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Lance (Voltron), Coming Out, Complicated Relationships, Confused Lance (Voltron), Developing Relationship, Drunkenness, Established Relationship, F/M, Hunk and Lance bromance 4 lyfe, Jealousy, Keith is a model, Lance is a researcher, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Only a few chapters but read with caution, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Pidge comes out as asexual, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Experimentation, Slow Burn, Smut, Space Dad Shiro, Straight sex in the beginning SNS, Threesome - F/M/M, Top Keith (Voltron), Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, but he's a professor in this one, everyone is in their twenties, klangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2019-09-02 22:16:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 93,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16795819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/pseuds/painted_lady12
Summary: Lance loves his girlfriend.  He does, really.  He's shopping for rings and they're both advancing in their careers until their sex life hits a plateau.  After talking it over, they decide to start looking for a partner to bring in and have a threesome with.Everything changes when they meet him, though.  Keith surprises them with his combination of rough attitude and charming thoughtfulness, and soon they're both swooning.Lance loves his girlfriend, but he can't stop looking at Keith.  Lance loves his girlfriend, but Keith makes him feel a way he's never felt before.Lance swears that he loves his girlfriend, but Keith gets under his skin, and soon he's trapped in something far more tangled than he ever expected





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is in a poem by Dylan Thomas called "Light breaks where no sun shines"
> 
> Hey guys! So this fic is exactly what I advertise, at least so far. I've only written so much, and I'm honestly just as excited to see where this concept goes as any of you.
> 
> This is set in an AU where they are all living in LA. Lance is a researcher, Keith is a model. The other characters will all make their appearances, no worries! I can't forget my other babies.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Lance loves his girlfriend

His girlfriend is a steady shore that his ocean comes back to. She is his lighthouse on rough stormy nights. She is the moon casting a soothing glow over his surface. With her, he is safe and serene.

They found each other when they were teenagers. Lance remembers that they met at thirteen, sand between their toes and sun shining bright on their necks. They were inseparable. Their mothers joked that they were two halves of the same soul. They would finish each other’s sentences and sometimes they would be touching and holding hands and pressing their thighs together without conscious thought.

It was like they were seeking something within the other to complete themselves.

Lance remembers sitting with her as the sun rose over the ocean at sixteen and saying, “ _You’re my sun, and I’m your ocean.”_

There was a flash of something in her eyes. It was the first time that their thoughts weren’t in step, the first time that she said something unexpected. Lance remembers this moment, has nightmares about this moment, thinks of it when his deepest doubts come out in their relationship.

She had said: “ _You’re the ocean, Lance. I can’t be the sun. The moon is the one that moves the water. The sun lights the ocean up… like a fire. I don’t want you to burn. I’m… I’m your moon._ ”

They had a painting in their apartment in Los Angeles of a moon casting a brilliant glow over the ocean, the night sky reflected in the depths. They lived in a dusty little place that was more likely to bruise your elbows than offer much feeling of “home”. When Angela had moved here for college, Lance followed. The moon made the ocean move, so he would move, too.

His girlfriend was one of the most intelligent and competent screenwriters of her generation. She was currently mostly writing for small budget pictures and television pilots, but she had been recognized by a few people who were big in the industry. She was in talks to consult on a major adaptation of a book series. She was in talks to make more money and move them somewhere that left the kiss of sunset on their skin and not bruises.

Lance hated Los Angeles, but he didn’t really. He loved the vapid atmosphere and the constant celebrity spotting and the dry heat. He didn’t love the run-down corner that they were relegated to because their paychecks could barely cover rent, let alone other basic essentials.

Lance worked at the local university as a research assistant. He was planning on going back for his PhD in a few years, but he wanted to work and build up a savings before he put himself through the bloody and draining years of Grad School. He’d prefer for him and Angela to be steady and ready. He’d prefer for them to be…

...the thought came to him while he lay flopped down on their worn couch in the middle of their tiny apartment. 

...a thought that has been forming like a tiny pinprick on the horizon until… he could see it clearly now. 

Angela in a white gown, Angela with daisies wound up in her hair. Lance in a light blue tuxedo watching her descend a flight of stairs with a lace veil… he could see the moment clear as day and as untouchable as a dream on his fingertips just slipping away.

It was time to start shopping for rings.

  


***

  


Angela came home from shooting at eight, and Lance already had lit candles with soothing scents. Lavender and vanilla were ready to ease her tight nerves. Lance met her at the door in the low light with an offering of take-out and a glass of red wine. When she kissed Lance, it was a sigh of relief that she quickly deflated from. Lance watched her go to the kitchen table and let the world drop from her shoulders as she settled into their tiny dinner table just big enough for the candles, some fake flowers, and their wine and take-out.

They talked about their day. They played footsie under the table. 

They curled up on their warn and sunken couch and watched Friends, a glass of wine perched on each of their knees.

When they were done drinking, Lance pushed her gently to the floor and gave her a shoulder massage, kissing each knot as he twisted and kneaded the stress of the day out of her body.

When he was done, she turned around. She was sporting a warm, half-lidded glow. Lance knew that look was saved only for him. Lance knew that this space between them was something sacred and safe. Their lips met, and Angela started undoing Lance’s belt. She pulled them down, taking him in her mouth and repaying him the same de-stress that he had provided her.

Later that night, Lance was buried inside of her, fucking her slowly and tenderly, and… she had come twice. Angela was riding high on the ecstasy of her endorphins and Lance was desperate now, kissing her breasts, hands moving along her curves, trying to find that thing that would bring him over the edge somewhere on the map of her skin, but he was hopelessly lost.

When she realized that he was struggling, she flipped their positions, hand pressing his chest back onto the bed as she leaned back. The combination of their hips moving in a pattern that they knew so well finally sent Lance over the edge. They collapsed together in the sheets, sweating and gasping.

Angela kissed Lance’s forehead, then propped herself on her elbow, fingers drawing spirals into his chest.

“Are we going to talk about it?” she asked bluntly, her sparkling blue eyes gazing into Lance’s. 

He looked up at the ceiling. “There’s nothing wrong.”

Her kiss-swollen lips pursed. “We need to talk about it.”

“Angela…”

She sat up now, her wild curly hair in a tangled crown around her head. “We’ve been having sex for ten years. You can’t tell me that it hasn’t… plateaued? If you won’t say it for you, I’ll say it. I love you with all my heart, and being intimate with you is incredible and meaningful, but I’m starting to worry that we aren’t enjoying our twenties as much as we should be.”

Like always, her words melted onto Lance and calmed him. She wanted to work with him, like always. They were a team. They were a force of nature.

“We talked about bringing in a third person,” Lance said with dread, expecting a negative reaction.

“I think that would be a good idea. I’ll write up the ad tonight. Also, are we looking for a girl or a guy?”

Lance and her had talked about this at length, so she knew what he was going to say, but she wanted to make sure. She wanted their communication to be crystal clear.

“A guy,” Lance’s voice swallowed a little at the end, and she pressed her lips against his forehead. 

“A guy, then. I’ll set up interviews if you just send me your work schedule next week.”

  


***

  


Lance could never come back to this coffee shop.

They had come here for three interviews so far in the last two weeks. They purposefully went somewhere that wasn’t close to their apartment in order to maintain discretion.

The staff here _knew_. Angela was as straightforward as they come, so she didn’t flinch or even stutter when she used terms like “penetration” and “restraints”.

“Restraints” were another thing that they both agreed that they wanted to try but wanted someone more experienced to show them the ropes.

They had both giggled at the phrase while they were tangled in the sheets earlier in the week.

The employees here couldn’t look either of them in the eye.

They had interviewed three very nice men. One of them was sweet, but he didn’t feel like he fit in well with Lance and Angela’s smooth dynamic. Another one was a bit too overwhelming with the jokes, and the last one wasn’t interested in Angela, only Lance, which wasn’t an option for the two of them. It was a packaged deal. Lance and Angela, two halves of the same soul.

Lance was tapping his foot while sipping his macchiato. “It’s hard to fit in with us, love. We’re being too harsh.”

His girlfriend shook her head, tanned face brightening with optimism. “When we meet them, we’ll know. I can just feel it.”

The two of them were waiting for their most recent contact. They said that they would be the one in the leather jacket, and as it was still early fall there would be very few people in leather jackets just wandering the baked streets of LA.

Angela’s one hand was loosely held in Lance’s, and she was reading a screenplay that she offered to help a friend out with. When she concentrated she bit her lip and twiddled with the pen without realizing it, but Lance knew. Lance knew her better than anyone.

The bell chimed at the front door, and Lance looked up and his hand on Angela’s tightened in recognition, signaling silently that this must be the guy.

He was breathtakingly rough around the edges. Lance was drawn to the way he held himself like what he was doing was of the utmost importance. His black leather jacket had red piping, leading up to a lean and pale expanse of neck. His face was sharp and intense, eyes immediately zeroing in on the two of them.

He went to the front and placed his order, then came right up to the couple. They had told him to look for a pair of Cuban knock-outs with blue eyes, and apparently they were exactly as described, because there was no hesitation.

Angela popped up, giving me a quick glance that conveyed that so far she was impressed. Lance got up next.

“You must be Keith,” Angela held out her hand, and Keith took it to his lips, pausing and meeting her eyes before kissing it, as if asking her permission. 

Her smile gave him the signal he needed, and he turned to Lance next. Close up, his grey eyes were almost purple in their odd mixture. Lance got lost in them for a moment as Keith brought Lance’s extended hand up to his lips, looking up for permission just like he did with Angela.

What were they even doing here? Where… Lance’s mind had gone completely blank. His chest tightened as he nodded feebly, the purple eyes brightening as he placed a kiss to Lance’s hand.

His lips were soft and dry, a gentle but heated press to Lance’s skin. People always said that Lance was as cool as the ocean, and Keith’s lips on his hand were burning.

The moment their eyes met after extended forever.

Angela was right. They would know when they found the right one, and it was Keith. He hadn’t even spoken yet and Lance was ready to sign a contract.

They all sat down on comfortable chairs around their wicker table. Keith’s drink was brought out along with a small chocolate pastry that he handed to the couple eagerly.

“I’ve been here once before and this is my favorite thing that they have. Here, I’ll split it for you,” his calloused hands reached for the knife and cut it in half, pushing the plate even closer to them.

They were both stunned before quickly going to take a bite of the treat. Angela made a noise like a wounded animal. Lance felt something explode within him. He never expected something so bitter to elicit such a positive response in him.

“It’s awesome!” Lance groaned, and Keith’s face lit up in relief. 

“Good, I wanted to start this off on a good note,” his voice was a rush of nerves and jitters that were calming down. 

Angela and Lance made eye contact for a brief second, and their hands found each other’s between them again.

“So, Keith, I guess we wanted to get some essentials out of the way first. The two of us are both professionals, and would like there to be some sort of protection in place. Are you comfortable with a contract?”

Keith blinked, then nodded. “Yeah, I would prefer that actually. Discretion is important to me, too.”

“Great,” Angela beamed, “I’ll draft one based off of what we talk about here today, if we decide to move forward with the arrangement,” she took out a pen and legal pad, tucking the screenplay back into her bag. “Okay, Keith, tell us about yourself.”

The other man leaned back in his chair, hands restless and fidgeting as he began, “I was born and raised in Texas, but I moved out here to pursue modeling. I’m moderately successful at it. I love Japanese food and my favorite color is red. My father passed away when I was young so I’ve had a bit of a tumultuous life, but since moving to LA and a few other hiccups it’s been pretty smooth sailing.”

Lance was captivated and so was Angela, who quickly noted a few things he said.

Then she asked, “Have you ever done anything like this before?”

For the first time since they sat down, Keith smiled. It was a wolfish grin full of mischief. “Yes. I’ve been told that I’m quite excellent at these sorts of things.”

The words settled low in Lance’s belly, and he couldn’t help but admire the confidence that Keith exuded from every pore.

Angela noted that. “Do you have any experience with bondage?”

“Wow, you really skip right to the point,” Keith chuckled lightly, but at Angela’s patient gaze he continued, “Yes, I’ve participated in acts of bondage before.”

As Angela was scribbling down more notes, Lance asked, “What are you looking for out of this relationship?”

“Honestly? Fuck,” Keith’s hands ran through his long, dark hair, a light blush dusting his cheeks, “I, um, I usually prefer one-time situations, but recently I’ve been feeling like I could use some new friends. Most of my model friends are fair weather at best. So, I’d be okay if we just did it once and called it a day, but… I would be open to a friendship, too.”

At those words, a toothy smile broke out over Angela’s face. “We can always see how things go.”

They had talked about this, too. They didn’t want anything serious or permanent, but they wanted to be friendly and comfortable with the person. They wanted someone that they could feel good about spending time with.

“What about your schedule?”

“Pretty inconsistent,” Keith admitted, scratching his forearm absentmindedly. Lance couldn’t help but take note of his rippling muscles tightening like wires there before the sleeve of his jacket was pulled back down, “I work every Monday and Thursday as a volunteer coordinator at a local soup kitchen which is the only thing that’s consistent. Other than that the modeling gigs tend to be all over the place. Sometimes I’ll get a company that does a series of shoots, but that’s only a few weeks at best of consistency.”

There was a pause before he cleared his throat.

“Tell me about you guys,” he suggested.

Angela looked over at Lance, a tiny knowing smile flitting on their faces.

“Angela and I met when we were thirteen. We’ve been together for twelve years now. We grew up in Cuba, but went to private school in America in high school together. We moved to LA for school and work. Angela is a screenwriter,” Lance squeezed her hand affectionately, “I work in a research lab. We mostly deal with solar radiation and how it affects organic material. It’s all pretty boring.”

Keith shook his head at that. “I doubt it, it sounds like you guys really have your shit together.”

Blushing, Angela looked down at her legal pad, full of notes. Lance noticed that there were more notes than words that Keith even said.

“We do, we’re just taking it one day at a time.”

From there it was all small talk and friendly banter. They exchanged music tastes and opinions on movies and celebrities. They laughed for twenty minutes about the story of how Angela had to work on a porno when she first got out to LA, and she hadn’t realized it until she got to the first meeting. 

“So you volunteer at a soup kitchen?” Lance asked, enjoying the way that Keith’s face softened.

“No, I work there part-time. It doesn’t pay great, but it’s nice to have something stable in my life. I used to volunteer there but they bring on long-term volunteers to help coordinate the volunteer list and keep things running smoothly. I help keep the schedule of volunteers full and coordinate big donations from local charities and churches.”

Taken aback by his passion and kind nature, Lance asked, “What got you into that stuff?”

That question put up barriers between them. Keith’s soft and warm expression froze up quickly, and he stiffened in his chair.

“Well… I told you that my father died young. When I moved out here to start modeling, I didn’t have a place to live at first. I got all of my meals from that soup kitchen until I got my first big break. I wanted to give back.”

He flinched, as if he was waiting for the two of them to laugh at him or judge him, but Lance on impulse touched Keith’s hand gently and reassuringly. Keith was stunned as Lance said, “It’s incredible that you went through all that and still want to give back. You must be so proud of how far you’ve come.”

There was a beat of silence. It felt like it lasted forever, where Keith’s barriers fell down and he stared at Lance in shock and gratefulness. Angela’s hand tightened on Lance’s other hand in a show of support.

They continued on with their conversation like nothing had happened.

Yet, for Lance, he felt like everything had happened.

After about two hours, Keith shot them both a cocky smile. “Did I get the job?”

“We aren’t paying…” Angela stuttered out, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment, “I said in the ad…”

“I was kidding, don’t worry,” Keith reassured her gently.

“Oh,” she breathed a sigh of relief. “We need to discuss it first, but I will tell you that of all the men we’ve met with, we haven’t clicked with anyone the way we click with you.”

Honest surprise spread across Keith’s features before he smoothed them out. “I’m happy to hear it. You guys seem like really awesome people. I’d be happy to get to know you better.”

They hugged at the end. Angela gave him a sharp squeeze as she was known to include in her hugs, and when Keith went to hug Lance, he felt a shot of nervousness at the contact, but quickly embraced the other man.

For a second the sound seemed to dial down around them. It was just the two of them embracing in a coffee shop. Lance felt like he was lit on fire. He felt like he was floating. He felt unsettled in a good way.

When they broke apart, Lance quickly took Angela’s hand, and they parted with smiles and waves.

“He’s the one,” Angela said giddily, bumping her shoulder affectionately against Lance’s

“Hell yeah he is,” Lance agreed, pressing a kiss to her forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wines and dines our two lovebirds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought the smut in this would be tastefully left for later chapters you thought wrong lol welcome back, loves<3
> 
> I've been really happy about the small but mighty group of people who have found their way over to this fic. Thank you all for your lovely support<3 I'll have a better idea in the next week or so, but I think this fic will update around twice a week. The chapters are a little shorter than I usually write.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Lance and Angela stood in complete awe outside of the address that Keith sent them to.

“This is…” Lance fiddled with his sport coat restlessly as Angela gaped openly at the house.

It was a gorgeous house, with sweeping arches and windows that yawned into the night. There were trellises that ran up the side of the house, and a beautiful garden still in full bloom in early September. 

“He lives alone,” Angela’s voice was airy and frail. “How can he afford this?”

Lance thought back to their meeting. Keith had said that he models and was moderately successful at it.

“Moderately successful my ass,” Lance grumbled, looking over at Angela with apprehension. The two of them had the contract in her bag. Angela was wearing a maroon waterfall dress. Her hair was pinned up to expose her tiny shoulders and leave her features more open.

Lance was wearing a casual suit.

When Keith had been contacted to tell him that they would like to move forward with the arrangement, Keith insisted that they come over. He promised that he’d cook them a nice meal, and just asked that they bring themselves and a nice bottle of wine. Lance felt like the bottle they got at Trader Joe’s wasn’t good enough as they hesitantly moved to the front door, a huge mahogany monster with what looked like gothic detailing.

Lance gathered up the courage to knock tentatively.

A few moments later the door swung open. Inside Keith was dressed sharply. He was wearing a red button-up with a cuffed grey suit. His hair was distractingly tied up in a tight bun on top of his head, revealing that he had an intricately designed undercut.

When he saw them, he grinned, quickly taking the wine bottle and hugging them both.

Inside was even more intimidating. A curved staircase led up to a brightly illuminated kitchen and living room area. They ascended the stairs, Angela’s heels clicking on the steps and echoing in the open floor plan. There was art everywhere that Lance looked, but he noticed that there weren’t any pictures. Him and Angela had found every nook and cranny to stuff full of pictures of themselves and their friends and family. It appeared that Keith’s house didn’t have anything of Keith’s in it.

Keith led them to an island countertop with a stove on it simmering something that wafted in Lance’s direction. The couple settled into stools on the other side as Keith threw on an apron once more and continued to stir his creation.

Lance found himself reacting at the sight of Keith like that. In an apron, with his hair tied up and his suit accentuating his figure. 

Lance knew that they made the right call.

“So I’ve got some of my favorite dishes. I’ve made some dumplings that are steaming right now, and I’ve got curry on the stove. It’s been cooking for hours, which is why the house smells so strongly of it right now. We’ll have that over brown rice for dinner. Dessert is a surprise,” Keith winked at them, and the two of them grinned at each other goofily. 

“You spoil us,” Angela giggled as Keith moved to open the bottle of wine and pour into three intricate wine glasses. The stems were wound with glass vines, spreading up to the cup of the glass and appearing to hold it up. When Keith handed them each their glasses, they took them tenderly.

“To us,” Keith held his own up, and they clinked their glasses together. The red wine felt good as it tickled Lance’s throat going down. Keith continued to prepare dinner while Angela went over her work story from the day.

“I finally got a call from one of the major production companies. They want to bring me on in a consulting capacity for one of their major book adaptations. We’ve been talking for months but they finally formally extended the offer. This is huge for us,” Angela looked over at Lance fondly, who brought her hand to his lips to kiss. 

“That’s incredible,” Keith complimented, taking a sip of his own wine. 

“So, Keith,” Lance approached slowly, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible, “You said that you were moderately successful at modelling, correct?”

They made eye contact at that, Keith’s gaze flicking around to his living area before settling back on Lance. “Most of this is from an ad campaign I was in when I was nineteen. My, uh, boyfriend at the time thought I should buy myself a nice place, so here we are. It’s opened up a lot of doors for me. Mostly I prioritize my philanthropy.”

‘Philanthropy’ is what celebrities call giving back to the community. Lance was suddenly made intently aware that they were being wooed by a wealthy model.

That only made him sweat a little bit.

Angela’s eyes were combing over Keith with thinly veiled interest. Lance felt his stomach flip over, knowing that in all likelihood the three of them were going to bed together that night.

As always, Angela and him wanted the same thing.

They talked about the weather. They talked about the wine. They giggled over little jokes and by the time the three of them sat down at Keith’s glass kitchen table cut with a stunning array of patterns, the three of them dug into their food intently.

Angela and Lance both moaned through their first mouthful.

“Keith, no matter what I’m hiring you as my personal chef,” Lance insisted, looking up at Keith with happiness. The curry was delicious. When they each took bits of the dumplings, their soft warmth dissolved in their mouths like butter.

“Where did you learn how to cook?” Angela asked between mouthfuls of the rice and curry.

Keith swallowed what he had just eaten. “A few of my friends from the soup kitchen have been hosting Wednesday night dinners for the volunteers for years. I always offer to help with food prep, so I learned a lot from all of them.”

They were quickly realizing that Keith was probably the most interesting person they had ever met. 

The couple was spellbound.

“So tell me about what started your relationship? You said you were friends first?”

They had finished dinner and were sitting around at the counter again. Keith was leaning on the marble with a curious expression. He’s shed his grey suit jacket, and now he was just in a cuffed red shirt, the top button undone in an effort to make himself more comfortable.

Or maybe it was to drive Lance crazy, imagining the rest of his smooth, pale skin hiding beneath it.

Angela rubbed her thumb soothingly along the thin skin of his inner wrist to signal that she would tell the story. “When we were fourteen Lance’s mom set us up. We had been friends for months, and she said that the family was going out to a nice restaurant to eat. She dropped us off and told us that she was going to pick up the rest of the family, and our waiter eventually told us that it would be just the two of us that night.”

Keith was barely containing his shocked laughter. “Your mom seems fun.”

“Yeah, she ‘seems’ fun. I love her with all my heart but she’s a manipulative asshole,” Lance mumbled bitterly.

“Anyway,” Angela continued, “They had left their credit card to pay the bill, so the two of us decided to get them back. We ordered the most expensive items on the menu, with desserts. We were so wrapped up in getting them back and we realized that we were having a blast. When we left, Lance tugged me towards the ocean. We were sitting on the beach and Lance said he was going to kiss me now, and if I wanted him to stop now was my chance to tell him. So I kissed him first.”

At the time it had stunned Lance enough at the time that he accidentally spazzed and they whacked their foreheads together, but they laughed so hard that they fell backwards onto the sand, giggling like little kids.

“You two have an incredible love story. Have you considered writing a book?”

Angela chuckled. “I’ve thought about it, don’t get me wrong. It just seems weird to write a book about a love that isn’t complete. We still have so much to grow into and do, you know?”

Lance never heard her talk about a book. He felt warmth gathering in his chest as Keith placed his hand on Angela’s.

“Stories don’t always have a happy, complete ending. Sometimes that’s okay, because the story is still worth being told.”

His words were like honey. Angela was already crumbling, her eyes lighting up and hand trembling.

They moved onto dessert, which was homemade mousse done up in chocolate bowls drizzled with raspberry sauce. Just like everything else, it didn’t disappoint.

Without conscious thought Lance’s hand moved to his girlfriend’s bag, and the contract was taken out. There were an agonizing few moments when Keith reviewed it and signed it, handing it over for the other two to also sign it.

“Why don’t we move to the bedroom?” Keith’s voice dropped, and Angela nodded in a daze. Lance felt his lungs burn with how nervous he was, his breaths scorching as he tried to get it under control.

They were going to fuck. Lance wasn’t sure the mechanics yet, because they hadn’t discussed it. Would Keith be fucking Angela? Would Keith be fucking Lance?

The thought shot a wave of desire through him, and his hands trembled as they went downstairs to a bedroom with an expansive bed and dim, lantern lighting. Keith took off his shoes and watch, and started to unbutton his shirt when Lance jumped forward and rested his hand over Keith’s.

“Let me,” Lance’s voice broke with nerves but he had been staring at that open button for what felt like forever. He wanted to be the one to pop the rest off. Keith’s hands dropped as his burning gaze watched as Lance’s fingers fumbled with the buttons.

When the buttons were all undone, Keith shed his shirt, and Lance’s breathing hitched. Keith was sculpted like a fucking marble statue, his abs ripped and his hip bones highlight the line that led down towards… Lance stepped back and let Keith do the rest as he shrugged out of his own clothes.

When he had on only boxers, he felt delicate hands slide from behind him to caress his chest, a 

kiss pressed to his shoulder. “Come to bed, baby.”

Gulping, Lance moved towards the bed. He could feel that Angela was in nothing but a bra and panties from how she was pressing against him, and Keith still had on his pair of briefs.

This part was familiar, though. Lance crawled into bed with Angela, caging her in with his arms and kissing her softly and delicately. There was a dip in the bed and suddenly Lance could feel Keith’s hands on his hips. Keith’s calloused hands set fire to his skin. He moaned into Angela’s mouth as Keith’s hands roamed his bare expanse of skin, over his taut muscles and thumbing at the delicate skin on his sides. 

A kiss was pressed to Lance’s lower back as Keith’s hands gently guided him up. He turned around, both of them still straddling Angela, and Keith’s index finger tilted Lance’s mouth up to meet his.

It was a kiss like a firework. It was a kiss that made Lance whimper. Keith was all tongue and teeth, rough and seeking. Lance was pushed back a little at first, not expecting it, but soon he was pushing Keith back and they began the battle over dominance. Angela’s hands came to rest on Lance’s hips as he kissed, and he could feel himself getting hard. 

When Keith pulled back, the two of them were breathless. For a second there was surprise in his eyes, and then his expression switched to neutral.

“Have you ever taken a man before?”

Lance hadn’t even needed to say it. It was like Keith gathered information from the kiss, like he could sense Lance’s desperation to experiment between his lips. They hadn’t talked about arrangements, but Keith knew what Lance wanted him to do.

“No,” Lance shuddered, nervous but also excited.

“I’ll make sure it’s so good, baby,” Keith said softly, nosing Lance’s chin up to press his lips hotly against Lance’s shoulder, against his neck, and finally gently biting his ear. “I want to fuck you while you’re fucking her.”

Lance let out a mewl at that, and Angela’s hands were positively shaking on his hips. They both gave a noise of assent at the suggestion, one that sounded strangled and overwhelmingly horny.

After that, Keith gently pushed Lance off of Angela, leaning over to press a lingering kiss to her lips. “I want to taste you.”

“Please,” she begged, and Lance couldn’t remember the last time Angela begged for anything in bed. He couldn’t remember either of them begging much at all.

Keith’s tongue traveled between the mounds of her breasts, biting gently at the material of her bra before sucking marks into her belly. She looked a little uncomfortable when Keith’s tongue traveled over her tiny array of stretch marks, and finally his fingers hooked into her panties.

Keith looked up at Lance, suddenly Lance realized that he wanted Lance to give permission. He was too enraptured by the two of them to notice. Her boyfriend positioned himself behind Angela’s back and pulled her upper body into his lap to press soothing kisses into her hair as Keith lowered his head.

In all honesty, in Lance’s many fantasies that he had of their first threesome, he never imagined this being part of the process, but it turned him on beyond belief as Keith tongue lapped at her. His view was a little obscured, but when Keith’s tongue came back it was sticky with slick lubrication.

“You’re already so wet for me,” Keith purred, and her back arched off the bed as he dove back in. The noises she was making were unreal. Lance held her hand and her nails were digging into his skin roughly as Keith worked his magic on her. The slick and wet smacking sounds of Keith licking and sucking and biting were making Lance unbearably hard, his erection pressing against Angela’s upper back. She could feel how aroused he was by this, and she brought her other hand to his left leg to squeeze even harder as she whimpered in a defeated way. 

She had just orgasmed, and they weren’t even fucking yet.

“I like to make girls come before they get fucked. It’s easier that way,” Keith said with shiny lips, pressing a possessive kiss to Angela’s clit before crawling over the bed towards Lance.

Lance was dangerously aware of the deal they’d made a few minutes ago. He was going to get fucked. He wanted it, and it sounded like a dream, but he was still struggling with the concept of putting something up there.

Keith eased Angela out of Lance’s lap, who was lolling on the bed happily. He reached under a pillow and a bottle of lube came out. It was green and Keith placed it next to him, placing his hands on each of Lance’s knees.

“Are you ready?”

Gulping, Lance took a deep breath before nodding. Angela’s hand found Lance’s in his moment of fear, and he suddenly knew that everything was going to be okay.

Keith stood up and shed his briefs, and Lance’s mouth began to water. Keith was hung, enough that Lance felt his own erection jump. Suddenly the fear that was soothed by Angela became heat that made him desperately want that inside of him.

Lance pushed his own underwear off, and Keith crawled up his body, popping open the lubricant and guiding Lance to kneel, then bent Lance over so that it looked like he was bowing.

He’d never felt more exposed in his life.

Unexpectedly Keith’s mouth pressed a lingering kiss to his lower back, and Lance shivered from the tender gesture. Soon he felt something cold and wet pressing at his opening, and he swallowed, trying to prepare himself for the intrusion.

Except he waited and it didn’t come.

Keith’s finger circled his pucker. It rubbed against his perineum and teased at his entrance, but nothing was penetrating Lance.

Lance quickly realized that that needed to change.

He canted his hips up and Keith got the message, the single finger pressing into him with minor resistance. Lance sighed happily, wiggling his hips to get a better feel. Keith started moving his finger, rubbing at his walls and pressing further in. Soon he started fucking the finger in and out until Lance was sufficiently loose. Then Lance heard the bottle again, and a second slimy finger pressed in too.

That stretch hurt a little bit, and Lance was suddenly apprehensive. If two fingers hurt, how badly would Keith’s dick hurt him?

He tensed in fear, but Keith used his other hand to rub his back reassuringly, gently twisting and hooking his fingers to get Lance ready for three.

When he looked over at Angela, his mouth dropped open because Keith had hit something inside of him that made him see the rainbow. He was as high as a kite on endorphins as he watched Angela mimicking what Keith was doing to Lance to herself. Her fingers were knuckle-deep inside of herself. It drove him wild. He wanted to be inside of her now. He wanted Keith to be inside of him. He wanted so much and it was driving him up the wall.

It wasn’t long before Keith deemed him ready. He gently pulled Lance’s hips back to rest against Keith’s hips. The other man’s aching erection was weighing heavily on his cheeks, and Lance felt his hips moving around to get a better feel of the weight and the shape of it.

Then Angela and them were adjusting so that Angela was on the bed, one leg tucked over Lance’s shoulder. Keith was rubbing soothing circles into Lance’s back, running kisses down his spine.

“Which do you want first?” Keith asked breathlessly, and Lance didn’t hesitate before whispering, “you.”

There was a smile against Lance’s back at that, before Keith was lubing himself up and positioning himself at Lance’s slick and loose entrance.

The first pop of the head of Keith’s cock was the most uncomfortable. Lance froze to give himself time to adjust before he nodded and Keith continued to press in. Lance had never felt this before. It was a kind of fullness that was entreating on his rational thought. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to keep inside of him all the time. Suddenly he realized that he might have been right when he told Angela that he thought he was bi.

That was one of the reasons they were trying this to begin with.

Once Keith was seated deep within Lance, Lance tried to find the strength and his own ties to reality to guide his own dick into Angela, whose little moans and gasps were indicative that it was different this time.

It was so different this time. This part should feel the most the same, right? Yet as Lance fully sheathed himself inside of her, and felt Keith press him further into her with a thrust of his hips, Lance screamed.

At first Angela’s eyes widened, but then Keith did it again and Angela’s legs tensed and loosened with the movement. Lance was panting, and he knew that he was fucking his girlfriend and that he was being fucked by a rich model and he knew all of that somewhere in his mind but…

...it was all drowned out by the loss of control. Lance was being fucked right now, and Angela was getting the thrusts Keith was giving. Lance had no control over the pace and it hurt a little bit but it hurt so fucking good that he didn’t care.

Within seconds he was overstimulated, his forehead dropping to land on Angela’s cheek before his lips traveled down and he bit harshly against her neck on a particularly rough thrust.

The sound that came out at that was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard her make.

“Harder, Keith,” she whimpered out, and soon Lance’s hips were being pulled back to stretch himself even more roughly on Keith’s dick before he pounded forward. Lance saw stars. He thought that he was drooling on Angela’s neck but he wasn’t sure. He thought that Angela’s hands were running through his hair and tugging when a thrust was particularly good but… Lance was floating somewhere above his body. He was overstimulated and overwhelmed and all he wanted was to beg for Keith to fuck him harder but his brain couldn’t put the words together to tell him.

When he came, it was painful in its intensity. Lance felt like his body was thrumming with electricity as he spilled into Angela, hands shaking as he tried to hold himself up on the bed. When she felt him come, though, Angela brought Lance to collapse against her front, and she pressed reassuring kisses into his sweaty hair and rubbed his back as Keith continued to fuck Lance through the orgasm.

The orgasm lasted for eternity, Lance swears. At some point a burning sensation comes back from Keith continuing to fuck him, but it made Lance’s belly boil. It felt good. In fact, he’d never felt more turned on in his life. He would do anything to feel like this. He would crawl on his knees and beg for it. He would kiss the ground Keith walked on. He would let himself be tied up for hours just to get a taste of what this feels like.

Then Keith let out a sexy grunt and Lance felt himself getting filled up even more. It was unreal how stuffed he felt, and Keith slid out of him then, collapsing on his side next to the couple that was tangled together in an effort to pull themselves together.

Keith poked Angela’s shoulder. “Did you come?”

She nodded, giggling a little as she muttered, “I’m pretty sure I came twice during that.”

Nodding happily, Keith pressed a kiss to Lance’s shoulder.

“How did it feel?”

Lance was still hovering somewhere in the stratosphere. He wanted Keith to hold him down and fuck him all day. He wanted to be chained to this bed. He wanted to get fucked against the countertops and over the railing on the upstairs landing and soon Lance had the sinking feeling that he hadn’t responded yet and was expected to.

“It was perfect,” he mumbled incoherently, and Angela’s hand came away from rubbing Lance’s back to caress Keith’s cheek tenderly.

“You guys can sleep here tonight, if you want,” Keith said suddenly then, and he made to stand up with Angela stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

Gulping, Keith was suddenly… Lance had never seen Keith look like this before. This was uncertainty. This was anxiety, the bad kind that made your knees quake. Swallowing again, he muttered, “You guys are done with me, right? I made it good for you. I’ll go sleep in the other room. You guys had too many glasses of wine to drive anyway.”

Lance made to sit up a little but his abdomen protested weakly and he collapsed back onto Angela’s chest. “I think she means she wants you to sleep here. I know that I want you to sleep here.”

The word Lance would use to describe the raw emotion on Keith’s face in that moment was ‘vulnerable’. Quickly he slipped back over the silky sheets, settling in next to the two of them and rubbing Lance’s back just as Angela had been doing.

“You were amazing,” Angela whispered into Lance’s hair, and he smiled dopily.

“Yeah, amazing,” he said before he fell asleep in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life, so let me know how you liked the sexy times! If you guys have any special requests, please hmu because this concept has so much potential for interesting and unusual situations.
> 
> Next time: Lance and Angela have a talk
> 
> If you like this, share this fic with your friends or subcribe! Also, check out my other fics over [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela gives Lance advice on their relationship with Keith. Later, Lance approaches Keith with a request

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, loves. 
> 
> Thanks for all my lovely commentators! You guys are the best. Comments give me life so if you like the story don't hesitate to leave one<3
> 
> I have a lot of chapters of this fic planned. It's going to be a hell of a ride, so strap in, folks
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

The next morning Lance awoke with a start. At some time in the night they had moved so that Lance was spooning Angela, his face pressed into her back. When his eyes fluttered open, he realized that it was just the two of them in the bed.

Lance sat up and saw a note perched on top of two towels folded up at the end of the bed. He plucked the note up, reading: _Here are the guest towels. I get up early so I’m going on a run and then I’m going to make us breakfast. Feel free to use the shower, I have four so it doesn’t matter to me. See you when you come down, Keith._

Gently Lance prodded Angela awake, who sat up ramrod straight when she realized that Keith was gone. 

“Where?” she asked without elaborating, but Lance just handed her the note and her expression eased into one of understanding. “Shower?”

Lance knew that was an invitation, and to be frank he felt gross. His front was covered in dried come, his ass was still full of sticky come with some even leaking out, and their hair was collectively a mess.

The two of them said nothing as they got up and went to the shower together. They hadn’t showered together in months, Lance realized. Their schedule was always so different that they showered at different times of the day. He gently took the washcloth Keith provided and rubbed Angela down, and soon she did the same to him, taking extra care with his crotch and his ass. When they were done showering they just leaned together in the steam, kissing like they had just had the best sex of their life.

Strike that, Lance and Angela _were_ kissing because they had the best sex of their life last night.

“I’m so happy that you got to experience that,” her voice was tiny and frail in the steaming stall, “I’ve never seen you look so euphoric.”

“Hmm,” Lance nodded, her head tucked under his chin, “It was definitely one for the record books.”

Then they quietly exited. They had brought an overnight bag in case they stayed, and soon Lance and her were pulling new, more casual clothes out of it.

The smell of pancakes and bacon was wafting down the curved staircase, and soon they were ascending to the sight of Keith flipping bacon and pancakes without a shirt on, his hair ties back into a half-pony to keep it away from the food.

Maybe it was the bacon, or the way Keith’s pajama pants rode low on his back, but Lance’s mouth was watering again.

When he saw the two of them, he quickly brightened and said, “The pancakes and bacon are almost ready. I made coffee, too, but I can make you guys tea too if you want…”

“Coffee is fine,” Angela said happily, picking up a mug and pouring herself some. 

“Where do you keep your tea selection?” Lance asked, and Keith pointed to one of the cabinets and filled up his electric tea kettle. Lance picked out Earl Grey and settled against the counter, watching Angela fix her coffee up and Keith finish laying out their breakfast.

When the three of them were seated, Keith handed the maple syrup around. “Did you sleep well?”

“Excellent,” Lance said immediately, “I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

Angela chuckled. “You passed out in a pretty precarious position.”

“The two of us had to roll you over and out of her,” Keith said with a shit-eating grin, and Lance almost choked on his sip of tea.

“What the fuck?” Lance’s eyes were wide.

“What can I say, Lance? I’m just that good that I fucked you into a coma.”

Angela and Keith were hysterical while Lance turned tomato red.

“Not funny, guys.”

Angela tried to stop laughing and her chest was shaking. “It’s pretty funny, love.”

“I was actually a little worried when you guys didn’t use a condom. Are you trying or something?”

Keith was eyeing the two of them warily, and Lance cut in. 

“She’s on birth control and we’ve only ever been together before so it wasn’t an issue.”

She visibly relaxed, all giggles finally dismissed.

“Oh alright, cool. I figured, but we only ever talked about whether I should wear a condom or not.”

“You texted us your medical report, you’re fine,” Angela patted his arm reassuringly.

They started eating in silence before Keith turned on some music in the background. The pancakes were incredible, and Lance gobbled them down extremely quickly. Soon they were all chatting idly and satisfied with their meal.

“I have to run to set this morning to help them with some of the make-up tests,” Angela reminded Lance, who nodded and got up. The two of them made their way back to Keith’s bedroom, where Angela closed the door and immediately turned around at Lance.

“Baby, you’re staying here when I go to set.”

Lance’s mouth opened and closed like a fish before he was able to garble out, “W-what?”

“This is a rare opportunity for you to be with a man. I know that you’ve always wanted an experience like that, and we found an awesome guy. We can be friends with him, and you can get it out of your system. I don’t want to be holding you back from anything in life.”

Her lips turned into a sad smile, which made Lance’s arguments deflate.

“He’s pretty cool. I… are you saying that I can do whatever I want with him?” Lance’s voice was uncertain.

Rolling her eyes, she packed their stuff into their bag. “It all has to be consensual, of course, but I want to give you this.”

It was too good, a golden berry placed just out of reach.

“This is usually the part in the sitcom that I say ‘okay’ and then you say ‘how could you think I was being serious?!’ so I’m a little hesitant.”

Standing up on her tip-toes, she pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. “Have fun, baby. Make good choices.”

This couldn’t be real.

The two of them walked out of the room, her ready for work and him still in his pajamas. She walked upstairs to give Keith a kiss on the cheek, and then walked out the front door.

“Do you need help with that?” Lance asked carefully as Keith brought the dishes over.

“No, we’re fine. I already washed anything that can’t go in the dishwasher.”

They stood in silence another beat before Lance said quietly, “I want more.”

It was so quiet that Keith turned with confusion, asking, “What?”

“I said that I want more. I would like you to fuck me again.”

The fork in Keith’s hand clattered to the floor, the only indication that he was anything less than calm. “You want me to fuck you without your girlfriend here? Dude, I like your girlfriend. I don’t want there to be any bad blood here. I don’t have enough good people in my life.”

Swallowing, Lance closed his eyes. “She told me that it was okay before she left. She wants me to enjoy my time with you. Obviously you can say no,” Lance added in with a serious expression, “you don’t have to.”

Keith’s eyes twinkled mischievously, then, his entire posture changing from something relaxed into something predatory. “What is it that you wanted exactly then, Lance? Did you want me to fuck you like last night? Or do you want to fuck me this time?”

“Fuck me again,” Lance said with determination as Keith inched closer to him, making his lower lip tremble. “You felt so good inside me…”

Within seconds Lance was pinned against the railing, Keith’s muscled arms on either side of him and his lips stopped only a breath away from Lance’s.

“What if I had you right here? Would you say yes?”

_Yes._

He didn’t say it but he knew that he would take anything Keith gave him. If Keith told him that all he got was to masturbate and come on Keith’s feet, Lance would take it. He couldn’t tell Keith that he had that kind of power, though. It would give Lance a disadvantage.

“The bed,” Lance requested with a trembling tone as Keith nosed down Lance’s neck, his hot breath sending warm shivers through Lance’s body.

His hands found Lance’s, and soon they were walking quickly down the stairs. Once they reached the bedroom Keith slammed the door and the two of them were on each other.

Lance felt like he’d been drugged or something of the sort, because touching Keith gave him a jolt of emotion that he assumed couldn’t be reached without some sort of chemical aid. Their kisses were wild and freeing and Lance felt like a dam broke somewhere in his mind because he could not possibly ever feel this good.

They fumbled with each other’s outfits until they were both completely naked and half hard, Keith pushing Lance onto the bed and then crawling over him possessively.

“I want to hear you scream again,” Keith pressed a kiss to the center of Lance’s chest. Then another an inch down. Each kiss made Lance buck with impatience, until Keith’s mouth finally enclosed around Lance’s member.

This wasn’t new, but it also was. It was someone else’s mouth, someone who has a cock and knows all the right things to do. Keith’s tongue was licking the underside as his head was bobbing and still miraculously avoiding a gag reflex. Lance was making those embarrassing sounds again, the wanton moaning and whimpering that he didn’t know he was capable of.

“Your mouth is in-incredible,” Lance choked out as Keith drew back. There was a tiny string of saliva connecting Keith’s lips to Lance’s hard-on, put Keith quickly wiped it off and grinned toothily.

“I’ve been told,” he said, walking around the side of the bed with a surprising amount of coordination for someone who was also hard as a rock. He grabbed the bottle of lube and moved back to his place between Lance’s thighs.

Keith coated his fingers and inserted one. Lance was still pretty loose, but Keith didn’t want there to be any pain.

“So you stayed at my house for my cock?” Keith’s eyes met Lance’s as he pushed a second finger in. 

Lance gasped and his hand shook as it tried to grab at the sheets. “I…”

“I’d understand,” Keith’s voice was silky smooth as he pressed Lance every which way and scissored his fingers to stretch him out, “The way you sounded last night was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. If you had tried to leave I would have convinced you to stay.”

Keith hit something that made Lance see stars as he choked out, “How?”

“I have my ways,” Keith came up and pressed a kiss to Lance’s lips as he slipped a third finger in. Soon Lance was rocking back onto it and he was ready, so ready. He wanted Keith inside of him already. He wanted Keith inside of him always. He didn’t really understand the concept of a “cock-slut” until last night. Now he couldn’t imagine a life without Keith in it…

...wait, no. That wasn’t right. Lance sighed as Keith retreated and he could get a reprieve from those odd thoughts for just a second before… Keith slid into him slowly and unforgivingly, making Lance see stars and thrash to get more friction. Keith was caging Lance in now. The last time they did this Lance was facing Angela, and now he was under Keith, those purple eyes boring into his with intensity so bright that Lance could hardly even look. Worse than that, even, he couldn’t look _away_.

Lance was so lost in those eyes, surrounded completely by Keith. Lance felt like he had been plunged underwater and wasn’t given anything to help him breathe, but he was okay. There was something bright and beautiful that was washing over him. Keith’s thrusts were slow and harsh, until Lance whispered, “I need more.”

Nipping playfully at Lance’s chest, Keith hiked Lance’s knees up onto his chest, folding the other man in half as easily as breathing. This had Lance at an odd angle, and at first he was going to protest when Keith slid into him again.

Nope, Lance was totally fine being bent in half. He was 110% on board.

The new angle had Lance seeing stars. He realized that his fingernails had been clawing mercilessly at Keith’s back to gain some purchase, and finally when Keith started repeatedly hitting the angle that had Lance seeing stars he warned, “I’m coming, Keith…”

He came untouched, just from Keith’s cock. Lance was blown away and couldn’t process what that meant, but he knew that it would be important later.

For now, Keith was slowly circling his hips inside of Lance, making Lance whine at the over-stimulation.

“I… I can help you come. What do you need me to do?” Lance’s voice was breathy and he cringed at how winded he sounded.

At that Keith adjusted his grip on Lance, and the other man squeaked as he was slipped out of. Keith guided him to sit up, and Lance struggled to figure out what he wanted before Keith’s arms came around and under his shoulders, pulling Lance back onto his lap. They were both on their knees and sitting up, Lance’s back resting against Keith’s beautiful Greek God chest as Keith pushed up and back in.

Is it possible for an orgasm to happen without coming? Lance felt that way after they continued like that for a while. It felt like Lance had been lost to an eternity of lust and bliss, and he was so happy that that was how things had turned out. 

Eventually Keith leaned Lance forward and started thrusting rougher and faster, and within a few minutes Lance could feel him coming.

The way it filled him up made him hum in happiness, and Keith slipped out and trailed a line of kisses down Lance’s back.

“How many times did you come?” Keith asked quietly, leaning towards Lance’s ear and talking like lovers do.

Was that what they were?

Lovers?

“I honestly don’t know,” Lance panted, “How long were we going at it?”

Keith checked his watch and his face paled. “Um… forty minutes?”

Almost an hour, then. Lance was being penetrated for almost an hour. That explained why his lower body was on fire, then. That explained why he had felt like he’d entered another plan of existence.

“I won’t be able to walk for days,” Lance stared at the ceiling, not feeling anything but calm and satisfied even with the words he used. 

“You don’t have to leave. We can stay here, watch movies, fuck every few hours. This time I’ll be gentler. That way you never leave.”

The words themselves were terrifying to Lance, and as soon as Keith muttered them he slapped his hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry Lance, I…”

“You’re okay,” Lance said with a smile, his hand coming up to caress Keith’s burning cheek, “I’m going to have to get back to Angela eventually. I could probably stay for most of today, though. It’s Sunday so she has the make up test at the studio and then book club. I would be going back to an empty apartment.”

_An empty apartment that I hate._

“No, don’t worry, I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me,” Keith chuckled and got up, stretching and cracking his back. “This was just sex. This was just…”

“...getting it out of my system,” Lance whispered with dread, and Keith’s face did the thing it did during the interview; it closed off and he was suddenly a brick wall.

“Yeah, getting it out of your system. Go back to your straight girlfriend and your straight life. I just wanted a good time, and I got it.”

The words deflated Lance’s lungs and made his hands shake, balling into fists. “Alright, then. Fine. I’ll be going.”

“Wait,” Lance wasn’t sure exactly when things went wrong, but the way Keith sounded made his heart ache. Keith held his hand out looking a little lost and frightened of rejection, “I know that this isn’t an ideal time but I would still like your number. I contacted you through the ad so...”

Just like that Lance remembered that despite their tiny argument, this man had treated him and Angela with nothing but respect and kindness since meeting him. Lance softened up and handed his phone over. “Put your number in and text yourself. I’ll forward Angela’s number to you as well.”

The silence between them was thick and heavy, and Lance wasn’t even sure how to reach across the chasm that had suddenly grown between them.

To Lance, though, everything within him told him to cross the chasm.

Instead, when Keith was done he gathered his things and left without so much as a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Lance goes to work sore, and throws a surprise party for a friend.
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works). I've got quite a variety to choose from!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance celebrates a friend's milestone, and there is a surprise waiting at the party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I'm so sorry about updating so late when season 8 dropped I had to panic binge with my roommate before I could check up on any of my Voltron fics. Anyway, I finished season 8, and here's an update. There will be more pretty soon as I've written eight chapters already, I just need to review and edit :D
> 
> Also, comments are always appreciated<3 Those who have already shared their thoughts have made me very happy, and I appreciate you so much <3 I love feedback like Hunk loves Shay
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

When Lance walked into work on Monday morning, he was still incredibly sore. He worked the 12:00-20:00 shift, so he always slept in until around 9:30, but today he rolled out of bed at 10:50.

With LA traffic that was a risky move, but Lance had managed to make it in.

He put his dinner away and went towards his work station. Working with radiation was interesting, because you could only do so much actual experimentation. Most of the rest of it was interpreting the data, so Lance threw on his favorite music and eased slowly into his chair, his computer booting up and his lab notebook out in front of him.

“Hey loser,” came a voice from behind him, and he turned and grinned to see Katie putting her stuff away and smiling toothily at him. 

“Aw, is it bring your child to work day?”

“Ha-ha,” Katie stuck out her tongue. Katie was on her last year of undergraduate at Eastern Pacific University of the Sciences. She was a research assistant for credit so she only came in three days a week, but Lance was extremely fond of her. She was like the little sister of the lab. Lance knew that she was going places. She often stunned Lance with how quickly she picked up on things, and he knew that she already had masters/PhD programs scouting her out.

Katie’s hair was cropped and curly, and her smile was infectious. For someone as smart and stunning as her Lance also joked with her about how the boys must be chasing her around, and she always rolled her eyes and avoided the question.

So when Katie jumped up to position herself on Lance’s desk, legs swinging eagerly like she was energized by the best secret, Lance looked up at her with curiosity. “What’s up small fry?”

Biting her lip, she said, “You know how I haven’t dated anyone?”

A smile split Lance’s face, and he feigned disappointment. “Oh, Katie darling you know that I am taken. I’m so sorry that I can’t return your feelings…”

She cut Lance off as she punched his shoulder, and he grunted in surprise at how strong she was.

“I’ve been doing some soul searching my therapist and my brother and I think… I think that I’m asexual.”

Blinking, Lance’s handsome face broke out in a grin. “Okay, cool. I’m happy that you feel comfortable enough to tell me.”

Katie was staring at Lance like he’d grown an extra head. “You… you aren’t making any jokes or anything. You always make jokes.”

“That is true, I am hilarious and charismatic to an almost uncanny degree, but this isn’t something to joke about. This is important to you, so I want to make sure that you know that it doesn’t change our friendship and that I’ve got your back.”

Sometimes during the speech Katie sniffled a little bit, lip quivering. “Oh, okay. Tha-thanks,” she scuttled off the desk and turned around. Lance could see her wipe a tear, but didn’t comment on it.

“Good morning my darling recruits,” came a booming voice, and Lance rolled his eyes as Hunk strolled in. Ever since he became one of the PhD candidates for the university he had taken a leadership role in their lab, and it bothered Lance to no end that they had the same amount of experience but he was above him.

Not that Hunk would ever flaunt it, though. He still showed up to work in cargo pants and tee-shirts with some sort of nerdy graphic on them. 

“Hey Hunk,” Katie greeted dismissively, “I’m asexual.”

“Wait what?! That’s great! We should all get dinner tonight to celebrate!” Hunk’s eyes were shining like an excited anime character.

Katie sat there stunned.

“I expected more resistance, to be honest,” she ran her hand through her hair and adjusted her glasses with nervous energy.

Hunk was stunned as well. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Pidgeon. I care about you no matter what and you know I’ll look for any excuse to go out and get a good meal.”

“Don’t call me Pidgeon,” she huffed. All new undergraduate research assistants were given nicknames by the full-time staff and grad students. Katie was dubbed “Pidgeon” after she wandered into the lab hungover with her hair in a bird’s nest tumble atop her head.

“Alright, well I’m going out to dinner to celebrate,” Hunk plopped down at his desk, “Katie, you can come or not come. Lance, are you and Angela in?”

“Hell yeah,” Lance smiled, then moved awkwardly and winced. Hunk’s eyes narrowed. 

“What, did you injure yourself at the gym or something?”

Blushing a little and going to check his e-mail, he muttered, “Something like that.”

  
  


***

  
  


Hunk doesn’t know the meaning of an intimate gathering. It was one of the things Lance loved about Hunk. They’d been friends since Lance started college in LA, rooming together freshman and sophomore year before he got an apartment with Angela. Hunk and him had planned many a blow-out gathering, and Lance expected nothing less than when Hunk walked into the restaurant half a hour early and said, “reservation for sixteen” Lance and Angela just smiled at each other knowingly.

“Did you tell Katie that this was going to be so big?” Angela asked in amusement, but Hunk’s girlfriend Shay just rolled her eyes behind his back. The two girls giggled.

The four of them made their way over to the enormous table. There were balloons on the back of one of the chairs with the asexual pride flag, along with one that said, “Congrats on embr-ace-ing yourself!” and another that said, “Asexu-whale” with a picture of a cute whale spouting water from its blowhole.

“Yeah, seems about right,” Lance chided, but he had a package that he put in front of Katie’s seat. He’d gone out and gotten her a present that day, so he wasn’t much better than Hunk.

People started rolling in. They told Katie to show up fifteen minutes later than everyone else to surprise her.

First her parents and Matt walked in. They had driven the forty-five minutes to visit for the party. Katie had come out to them last night and when Hunk emailed them this afternoon they immediately were on board with the idea, and promised to pay for everyone’s meals.

Lance thought that he would die of happiness when he heard that.

Shiro walked in with his husband Adam, and then quickly behind them was Shiro’s friend and one of Katie’s academic mentors, Allura. She had a boy with long pale hair pulled back into a braid trailing behind her. 

Lance stood up and hugged Shiro.    
  


“It’s been a long time, man,” Lance grinned.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I was your TA in chemistry,” Shiro joked, and came over and gave Matt a huge hug. Matt and Shiro had been best friends for a while, and once Katie came into the lab and introduced them to Shiro and Adam, and they recognized their TA from their own sophomore year of college, they all became great friends.

Hunk frowned at Shiro, though. “Dude, is your brother coming? Katie really wanted to meet him.”

At that Shiro rolled his eyes. “He wanted to take his motorcycle. Something about fresh air and not wanting to be packed into my sedan.”

The sound of rumbling came from the parking lot, and within a few minutes Angela and Lance’s heart stopped.

It was Keith. Their Keith. The Keith that they had had sex with two days ago Keith.

The two of them looked at each other, panicked, around the same time that he spotted the two of them and paled.

“Hey, Keith, glad you could make it,” Shiro ruffled his hair, and the perfect model look was disrupted in favor of a disgruntled glare. 

It was so natural. This was not the Keith that charmed his pants off. This is a normal Keith, with friends and annoyances and family.

They all made introductions. Once Katie’s two roommates Ina and Nadia showed up it was only a few minutes before Katie strolled in, blushing all the way down her neck at the sight of so many people.

“Congrats, Katie!” they all cheered, and she buried her head in her hands, embarrassed out of her mind.

When she looked up, she narrowed her eyes at Hunk and made a movement of her finger along her throat, indicating that she would kill him.

Hunk just winked.

When she saw her parents, Katie’s mouth dropped. “Mom? Dad?”

The two of them enveloped her in a hug from both sides. “We all wanted to celebrate you figuring things out, Katie. We’re so proud of you.”

They let her go so that she could settle into her seat, eyes glistening.

She stopped dead at the balloons and her mouth opened and closed like a fish before she started laughing hysterically.

When she settled into her seat, she picked up the package. “Is this a coming out present or something?”

“Open it,” Lance said with excitement, and she did, her face crumpling into laughter as she turned it around for everyone else to read.

It said “asexual in the streets and still asexual in the sheets”. Lance was really proud of his find, and was grinning like an idiot when Katie slid it on over her other t-shirt.

Quickly everyone dissolved into conversation. Angela and Lance were near Hunk, Shay, Matt, Sam and Coleen, and the rest were on the other side of the table. Everytime Lance looked over there, Keith was staring at them with shock.

After a little while, Lance cleared his throat and stood up. “I’ll be back guys, just running to the little scientist’s room.”

Everyone boo-ed the joke as he set off, reaching the bathroom and letting himself sag against the wall.

Keith was never supposed to be a person. He was supposed to be a dream. He was supposed to be someone that Lance could have fun with. He realized now that he never planned to be actual friends with Keith. He wanted Keith to remain the aloof mystery model with unknown sums of money and a tantalizing but clouded life story.

Keith was Shiro’s brother. Shiro, who he’d known for six years. Keith had never been out with them before. They had never met before.

The door to the bathroom opened, and he started to right himself so that he didn’t look like death to the stranger walking in. Then he realized it was Keith, pale as a ghost.

“What the hell, dude?” Keith’s voice was shaking a little bit. “What are you doing here?”

“What… what am I doing here?!” Lance threw his hands up in annoyance, “What are you doing here?! Katie is an undergraduate in our lab. I’ve known her for years. Shiro was my TA when I was in school.”

Keith’s lips parted in surprise. “I came because Katie wanted to meet me. She’s looking at a few schools in New York City and I have an apartment in Chelsea. I usually rent it out to students anyway so I can get her a good price.”

“You just… have an apartment in New York? How often do you use it?” Lance was overwhelmed at this point.

“Not as much as my apartment in Austin,” Keith admitted, then quickly realized he’d taken the conversation off course.

  
  


“Ignoring that,” Lance waved his hand dismissively, “What the hell are we supposed to do? Should we pretend not to know each other?”

“No,” Keith admitted, “Or… I don’t know where we could have naturally met, anyway. It might be best to just avoid interacting at all.”

So they did. The rest of the night went swimmingly. Katie had a blast and everyone got tipsy on the Holt’s dime. Ina, Katie’s roommate, was designated driver for the other two, so she drove Katie home.

The rest of them all separated, until Lance found himself watching Keith mount his bike.

“Baby, we have to go. It’s late and I have to be on set early in the morning.”

The two of them had caught each other’s eyes, though. Keith was staring at Lance guardedly from behind his dark fringe of hair, and Lance was searching his face with undying interest.

Angela tugged his shirt sleeve gently. “Come on, we agreed to pretend not to know each other. We can set something up with him soon.”

Nodding, Lance followed Angela to their car.

  
  


***

  
  


When they got into the apartment, Angela tugged Lance to the couch. She sat him down and opened her mouth, but was unsure how to start.

“I… I want us to make boundaries,” she said carefully, “You clearly want to spend more time with Keith. I’m okay with that, trust me. I just want to lay out clear rules so that everything stays out in the open.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lance was relieved, some of the tenseness in his body draining out.

“I’m okay if you see Keith one-on-one as long as you let me know. Are you okay with me seeing Keith one-on-one if I let you know?”

The thought made Lance’s stomach twist uncomfortably, but he supposed that it was only fair. “Yeah, that sounds alright.”

“Let’s keep it just the three of us for now. If we want someone new we have to discuss it beforehand.”

“Okay,” Lance agreed. “What about dates?”

“What about them?” Angela was puzzled.

“If Keith and I grabbed dinner then went back to his place and fucked, is that crossing a line because we also went on a date?”

That threw Angela for a loop, who was thoughtful for a minute.

“For right now I think I want any dates with Keith to be all three of us. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

“Understandable,” Lance agreed, biting his lip.

The two of them came together and pressed a lingering kiss between them.

“I love you,” Angela whispered into his mouth.

Lance smiled against the hot air. “I love you too.”

  
  


***

  
  


The next day when Lance got into lab he tugged Hunk into one of the storage rooms with a panicked look on his face. He would normally tell Hunk everything, but with Katie coming out yesterday his own sexcapades got pushed to the back burner.

“Angela and I had a threesome,” Lance blurted out to Hunk, who had to grab Lance’s shoulder to steady himself.

“You two did  _ what?!  _ I thought you guys were kidding about that stuff!”

“We were,” Lance began hesitantly, “Until we weren’t.”

Hunk seemed to have gotten a hold of himself and was calming down. “Was it good?”

This was where Lance’s eyes closed and he leaned against the doorway they came in, sighing. “It was the best sex of my life.”

“It figures that you would swoon to have two girls all over…” Hunk’s gaze widened as he remembered Lance being sore the day before, “...unless it wasn’t a girl.”

“It wasn’t just that it was a guy,” Lance was working up to this part, the part that he could only talk to Hunk about because Angela and him had an agreement that they would each have one confidant that they could spill relationship stress onto. Lance’s was Hunk. “We didn’t know it at the time, but it was Shiro’s brother, Keith.”

For a second Hunk was staring blankly at Lance, until a guffawing, breath-stealing laughter choked out of him.

“That is… the funniest shit…” he started crying, “then you saw him last night!? That must have been so weird!”

Lance smiled and chuckled a little, too. “Yeah, I guess it was a little funny.”

“Dude, you went rigid when he walked in. I just thought you were checking him out, you know? We’ve known you were probably bi for a while.”

Groaning, Lance leaned his forehead against Hunk’s shoulder. “What am I going to do, dude?! If he’s Shiro’s brother he’s going to keep showing up to things. Our circle of friends is so enmeshed and tangled that I could run into him practically anywhere!”

“Hey! I prefer to call our group dynamic ‘unique and complicated’,” Hunk interjected loyally, and Lance just rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, Hunk,” Lance felt his big arms encircle him with care. “Do you think we did the wrong thing? Was the threesome worth it?”

“I don’t know,” Hunk said honestly, “that’s not something I can help you figure out. What I can do is tell you that I will run interference where I can if you run into him again, and that I will support you with whatever you do next.”

Lance slumped in Hunk’s grip. “Thanks for being a good friend, dude.”

“Anytime, dude. Anytime.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Our three idiots get brunch
> 
> If you like this check out my other fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)
> 
> Keep an eye out for a new short fic series by me about life after season 8 :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance starts to stress about the implications of their arrangement with Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hi hello!
> 
> Welcome to this chapter. I know there's been a lot of plot and not a lot of fun sex scenes, but I promise I've got plenty of fun stuff planned. Just be patient while I deal with the story part of this story<3
> 
> TW: Lance has a panic attack in this chapter. It's short and doesn't become much worse, but I wanted to put that heads up for anyone who might have a hard time with it. 
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Lance and Hunk have been friends since their freshman year of college.

Hunk was there when Lance was perfecting his English and trying to tone down his accent. He was the one that studied with him even when he wasn’t taking the class and danced with him drunk on tables in frat parties. 

They both graduated with degrees in Biology. They both started working at the same lab. Two years ago Hunk told Lance that he was applying to be a PhD candidate.

“You always wanted to go back to school too, dude. Apply with me!”

Lance had shaken his head with conviction. “Angela needs to stay in LA to be more accessible for contract work. I can’t guarantee that I’ll get into an LA program.”

Hunk’s expression sunk. “You know she’d support you with whatever you wanted.”

Looking at his feet, Lance had breathed, “That’s what I’m worried about.”

  
  


***

  
  


Angela’s eyes were flicking under her lids in a deep sleep, and Lance took a moment to study her. Her golden brown hair was in a tangle around her, and Lance wanted nothing more than to just lay here with the morning sunlight streaming across her face and watch her sleep.

They had plans though. Angela wasn’t scheduled to be on set today, so Lance, Keith and her were getting brunch before Lance had to go to work.

Her eyes stopped shifting then, and she moved, arms reaching out in a yawn and almost whacking Lance right in the face.

“Holy-” he actually fell off the bed trying to avoid getting hit, and Angela was up in seconds, trying to help him up and then descending into hysterical laughter.

Lance fixed his hair and his shirt, flustered. “My girlfriend tries to kill me in the morning and this is what I have to put up with?”

Smiling, she looked up at him, her extra large t-shirt falling off one shoulder, and Lance could swear that in that moment she looked like an angel.

“We have brunch with our boy toy,” Lance reminded her, and her eyes widened.

“Shit!”

The two of them were at the restaurant ten minutes early and Keith was sitting on a bench by the hostess, twiddling his thumbs. Lance thought it was unfair how Keith pulled off a loose cardigan with a striped t-shirt so well, with his hair wild and falling in waves over his shoulders. 

When he saw them, he looked apprehensive for a moment before he stood and went right for Angela, giving her a peck on the cheek.

To Lance he just hugged him, and the Cuban boy was left feeling like he missed out on something.

With Lance and Angela’s hands still clasped tightly between the two of them they were led by the hostess to a small booth by the window. They immediately brought a pitcher of mimosas over. “Thursdays are bottomless mimosas for $10 a head. Did you guys want me to go ahead and put that on your tab for you?”

“Yes, please,” Keith said weakly, avoiding eye contact with Lance.

There was only another few seconds of awkward silence before Lance broke it.

“You’re being really mature about this,” Lance muttered bitterly, and Keith was caught surprised, eyes widening innocently.

“I… am I doing something wrong?” Keith asked as calmly as possible, but Lance just rolled his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Lance said, “I’m sorry that our last interaction ended weirdly. I talked to Angela about it, and that’s why we’re here. To go over a revised contract.”

Stunned, Keith watched as a new, thicker packet landed in front of him.

“This is… I’m going to need a little while to read this, of course,” Keith said hurriedly.

“Of course, take it home. You don’t have to decide right now,” Angela assured. “The basics are pretty simple. We want to engage in a strictly sexual relationship with you. You can have a strictly sexual encounter with both of us, or either one of us individually as long as the other is notified. Dates are not included in that. If there is going to be a date it can be both of us or neither of us. We also added a few sections on bondage. It was something we discussed last time but didn’t end up adding to the first contract.”

Swallowing, Keith folded the contract and shoved it in the tiny backpack he was carrying. 

“About last time…” Keith swallowed, “I’m sorry. If you want the relationship to be strictly sexual I can do that, too. Does the contract mention anything about other partners?”

Angela and Lance glanced at each other. “We’re only going to include you in our sex life for the time being. However, you are welcome to do whatever you like. Our only request is that if you sleep around with other people you let us know so we can be more careful about condoms.”

Lance wasn’t sure how Keith and Angela could so simply have a conversation about this at brunch, and when the waitress came back with their champagne flutes Lance immediately filled his to the brim and drank the whole glass in one long sip.

The two of them were watching him with amusement.

“Sorry, honey, were we making you uncomfortable?”

“Yeah, honey?” Keith teased, and he threw them both a withering look.

“You guys can’t tag team on me. I feel attacked,” Lance grumbled, and Angela leaned over and kissed his cheek affectionately. His frown immediately melted into a smile.

Keith cleared his throat. “So, the other elephant in the room…”

Lance’s eyes widened, not sure how he forgot about that glaring detail. Maybe he was too focused on the way Keith’s hair curled around his ears. Maybe he was too focused on the way the sunlight streamed in on him, casting him in attractive light and shadow that mimicked the color contrast of his skin and hair…

...Lance forgot what they were talking about again.

“You mean Katie’s party,” Angela cut in, patting Lance’s knee reassuringly. “We’ve known Shiro for a long time. We knew he had a brother but… we thought that you were an orphan? Shiro is very close with his parents.”

The purple eyes cast down as he poured each of them a tall glass of mimosas. The waitress brought them over biscuits and took their orders while Keith bit his lip.

“I told you that my father died. My mother was a completely different story. That’s not how I met Shiro, though,” Keith corrected, switching tracks, “when I was fifteen and in foster homes one of the foster families I stayed with was Shiro’s. They were only able to house me for a few weeks because they were expecting another kid, but the few weeks I was with them was the first time since my father died that I felt like I had a family. I didn’t live with them again, but we stayed in contact. Shiro always made sure I kept myself out of trouble, and when I moved out here to model and was having trouble starting out him and Adam housed me for a little while. He’s not blood, but he’s my family.”

It explained some of it, but not all of it. For now, though, Lance and Angela knew they weren’t getting any more information.

“Okay, so I’m assuming you spend a lot of time with Shiro?”

Keith nodded. “I’m with him and Adam a lot. I’m friendly with Matt, too, but you guys know that Shiro and Matt are best friends. I’ve met Katie a few times, and mostly she just asks me about all the traveling I’ve done for work. I think she secretly just wants to wander the globe.”

Lance didn’t know that about Katie, but he could see it. Katie found profound beauty and meaning in everything, and getting the chance to see so many different and unique sites… yeah, it made sense. 

“Well, I’m assuming that we don’t talk about the arrangement with them?” Keith asked.

“Angela and I each get a confidant. Mine is Hunk, hers is one of her actor friends. They will know what is going on, but they won’t tell a soul.”

Lance could see Keith twitch. “Alright then. Do I get a confidant?”

“I… guess it would only be fair,” Lance huffed.

“It’s Shiro.”

“No, it can’t be Shiro,” Lance argued immediately.

“You get to confide in someone we both see frequently, so I want to be able to do the same.”

“Then half the group will know! If Shiro knows, he’ll tell Adam, and maybe even Matt. Then Katie will find out. Before we know it there would be no point in keeping it a secret at all,” Lance was a little red faced, and at the end of his rant refilled his glass and tossed it back.

“Then we won’t keep it a secret,” Angela said softly, and Lance and Keith both gaped at her.

“What?” she blushed, “I’m not saying that we should tell everyone, I mean we should let our close friends know about the arrangement. We can amend the discretion section of the contract. It just seems like we’re setting ourselves up for failure otherwise.”

The two of them looked at each other, a silent consideration going through each of their heads. It made sense, actually. If half the group was going to know, then it might leak and the wrong people might hear about it in the wrong way. If they tell their friends and tell them to be cautious about it, it was a far safer option.

At least it seemed good on paper. That idea was predicated on their friends being trustworthy enough to keep their secret and not gossip.

“Let’s just tell Shiro and Hunk for right now,” Keith conceded, “We can play it by ear with the rest.”

Their brunch came out, and soon they were all digging into their food. Keith got french toast, and Lance watched weakly as Keith got syrup over his thumb and sucked it clean, his perfect lips fitting snugly over the digit.

“You’re staring, darling,” Angela chided with amusement, and Lance dug back into his food with vigor.

At the end Lance dropped Angela off at the apartment and went to work. When he got in, Hunk handed him a lab coat and a faculty badge.

“We’re doing a presentation for undergraduates,” Hunk said with thinly veiled excitement. “What should we do?”

“You always get a good reaction with your magnets routine,” Lance said with an encouraging smile.

As they walked towards the classroom, Hunk bumped Lance on the shoulder. 

“Are you and Angela meeting Keith this weekend?”

Lance’s face heated up. “Yeah, actually. We’re spending all of Sunday together. The plan is sex and bad horror movies.”

“What a life you lead,” Hunk said wistfully, patting him on the back. “Isn’t this a bisexual dream for you?”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked honestly, his head cocking to the side.

“You know, bisexual means you want both sexes. Having both a guy and a girl to have sex with must be the perfect arrangement for you.”

Hunk was Lance’s best friend. Hunk was a kind-hearted, intelligent, and fierce friend. In that moment, though, Lance shrunk away from Hunk, feeling a deep-seated hurt echo from his chest. It was visceral, like coughing while choking, and Hunk’s eyes went wide.

“Dude, Angela and I… we’re forever. Keith isn’t in our relationship. I don’t want a relationship with three of us. Just because I’m bisexual doesn’t mean I want a relationship with both. It just means that I have a wider selection. Sure, having Keith is an awesome experience because I get to explore my bisexuality without losing Angela, but… it’s not forever.”

Realizing his mistake, Hunk rolled it back. “I’m so sorry, Lance, I didn’t mean to assume. If it’s just sex, then, how long are you guys going to keep him?”

_ Keep him _ .

Like Keith was a pet to be  _ kept _ , one that when it got too old would be exchanged at the shelter so the family could get a new one.

The idea of Keith being treated so carelessly revolted Lance.

“I don’t want to talk about this, Hunk,” Lance mumbled, no longer making eye contact. Suddenly this fun, incredible experience that Angela and him had been having had become nothing more than a passing fancy.

Hunk didn’t mean to drive a stake through Lance’s world, but he did it already and he couldn’t yank it away without there still being residual damage.

  
  


***

  
  


Friday afternoon Lance slumped behind Katie who was working on the first draft of her thesis hypothesis that needed to be approved within the next two weeks. Sometimes about living energy power sources that she called “Quintessence”.

“What’s wrong, Lance?” Katie looked up at him in the reflection of her screen. “You look like someone broke your heart.”

Lance shook his head, straightening up but still keeping his gaze downcast. “Katie, am I a good person?”

It was almost eerie how quickly Katie jumped out of her chair to contradict him. It was so quick, in fact, that Lance almost fell over as her chair went flying towards him.

“How can you ask that?!” Katie was actually pissed. Her hands were shaking. “Lance… you and Hunk are some of the best people I know. When I have finals, you both take turns making sure that I’m eating and sleeping. When I came out to you earlier this week, you both managed to make it not a big deal but also a big deal, and somehow pulled both off in the best way possible. Lance, you and Angela treat me like a little sister. You’ve picked me up from more than one house party, and make me soup when I’m sick.”

That all sounded nice, Lance thought, feeling a little bit better. “Yeah, but outside of the people I’m close to, I don’t think I’m a very good person.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Lance, remember when we went to that conference in DC and we were on the Metro? Remember how you didn’t even hesitate to get up when that pregnant lady got on? Not only did you let her sit but you helped her and cleared a path for her when she needed to get off.”

“Yeah, but…” Lance remembered that day. Katie and him had been nose deep in fanfictions, and Lance was reading torture porn. It was nice of him to get up for that lady, but doesn’t the torture porn cancel out that niceness?

“No buts, Lance,” Katie thumped him on the forehead. “Get it through your thick head. You’re a good person.”

“But…”

Her gaze flashed dangerously behind her green-rimmed spectacles, so Lance shut up, feeling pretty effectively silenced in his argument.

  
  


***

  
  


That night, Lance and Angela were reading in bed and Lance’s hand found hers. She looked up from her book.

“Everything alright, love?” she asked with concern. They didn’t normally break their routine.

“Are we good people?” Lance asked quietly, in the tiny space of their love, and unlike Katie who had gone into a rage, Angela’s face crumpled as she bookmarked her page and plucked Lance’s from his lap, climbing on top of his lap so that their faces were inches away. Her warm arms came around him tenderly.

“I think that you are a good person,” she said softly, “You are kind and loyal and good and a little bit cringey with your jokes but the intention is always good. You’ve managed to make me so incredibly happy, Lance McClain. If nothing else, all the good you’ve done for me has to put you over the top, don’t you think?”

Her tiny, secret smile made Lance surge with love.

“I love you so fucking much,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I love you too,” she tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “What’s this about?”

Always direct, always clear and concise, always deliberate. That was the Angela he fell in love with. “Are we keeping Keith like a pet?”

“Ah, I see,” her face oddly turned mischievous. “Who got inside of your head?”

“Hunk,” he mumbled with irritation.

“Baby, we created a contract with the express purpose of making sure that Keith knows exactly what he’s getting himself into. If tomorrow he texts us and says that we’re done, it’ll be done, just like that.”

She snapped her fingers to get her point across.

Somehow that made it feel like the floor had dropped out from Lance instead of reassuring him, and his eyes widened then, a panic attack clawing up his throat as he fought to breathe.

After his first shaking and moaning breath Angela was on alert. She climbed off of him and slid in behind him to support him as his head went between his knees. She gently brushed her hands through his hair and sang an old lullaby they used to use to lull each other back when they would fall asleep on the beach together or were trying to sleep in a rowdy college dorm. It was familiar and warm and within seconds the panic attack ebbed away.

“No more talking about Keith tonight, alright? We can talk about it tomorrow. We’re seeing him on Sunday, too, if you want to talk to him about any of your concerns.”

His throat was burning, but Lance felt like he had just run a million miles and he let himself slide down the bed and under the covers, his head cradled in Angela’s lap as she brought her book over and continued to read, off-handedly humming the lullaby until Lance was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos give me life, so let me know if you like this so far<3
> 
> If you like this, check out my other works [ over here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance kill time waiting for Angela

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter made me melt honestly. I write so much angst this was a delight.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

On Sunday afternoon Lance picked up his phone as he was pulling on his jacket to go grab Angela from work so they can carpool to Keith’s.

When he saw that it was her he chuckled, accepting the call. “I’m on my way out, my love…”

“No, there’s been an issue. The writers’ room is up in arms. The original author is threatening to pull his permission to shoot if the studio makes one of the changes they were planning. We might lose the whole project so it’s all hands on deck. Why don’t you head over to Keith’s? I’ll catch a ride from someone here and meet you there when I’m done putting out fires.”

Then there was a click and she was gone, and Lance froze in the doorway.

Now he was supposed to go over to Keith’s alone and wait for Angela to show up.

Was this a grey area? If they had sex they should tell Angela, but then she wasn’t likely going to look at her phone if they’re battling it out at work. However, if Keith and him just hung out, would that be considered date material?

Lance was suddenly very anxious as he climbed into the hybrid. 

When he arrived at Keith’s place, he sat in the car and scrolled through twitter for a little while before he finally straightened up and walked to the front door, ringing the doorbell with determination and shaking knees.

When Keith answered, he was already shirtless. Lance didn’t have a chance. Keith’s perfect body was on full display, and he was wearing sweats and his hair was pulled back… he looked like he’d spent the morning with a bag of chips playing video games and for whatever reason that made Lance want to get his hands all over that perfect body.

“Lance,” Keith’s voice was smooth as honey as his gaze flicked around. “Angela?”

“She’s stuck on set for a little while longer, so she told me to come over on my own. She’ll meet us here when she’s done.”

The two of them made eye contact on that, something raw passing between them before Keith cleared his throat. “Oh, alright, would you like to come in?”

“Yeah,” Lance moved into the house and Keith closed the door. The other man took Lance’s hand gently, just a few fingers loosely tugging. They went into (what Lance imagined) was Keith’s den.

“I’ve got a bunch of consoles and movies and every streaming service in existence. We can always watch something until Angela gets here.”

Lance swallowed. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Keith settled in on the couch as Lance thumbed through some of the movie selections before falling on the floor laughing.

“Dude, seriously?” Lance held up a VHS tape called  _ Ballroom Dancing for Beginners. _

His eyes widened as he reddened. “I didn’t… that must be an accident…”

Lance’s eyes twinkled evilly as he popped the tape into the historic VHS player, Lance standing and holding out his hand as he kicked his shoes off.

“Would you like to dance?”

The moment hung sharp between them for a few seconds before Keith turned the TV input to the tape and stood, hands loosely clutching Lance’s as they moved closer together.

The electricity was overwhelming for Lance, and he found his hands moving to Keith’s bare hips as Keith’s wrapped around his neck. Whenever they made eye contact Lance felt the jolt as if he was being touched by a livewire.

Then, the lesson began.

The electricity fizzled out pretty quickly, replaced by frustration and giggles. 

“No, you have to do it like this,” Keith guided Lance, who was grinning stupidly. “What?”

“Okay Mr. I’ve-never-watched-this-tape, I’ll follow your oddly specific and correct advice,” Lance let Keith lead him, and where they touched was warm. It was warm like a hot breath on your neck at the top of an icy mountain. It was warm like the first sip of tea during a blizzard. It was warm like easing into a bath after a long day at work.

Lance had never felt so warm.

When the lessons ended, Keith and Lance continued to try to dance, swirling around the den and laughing hysterically. There wasn't even any music playing, which neither of them had even registered. 

At a certain point Keith lost his footing and Lance went tumbling back onto the couch, and they were both so hysterical that they couldn’t even talk. They were collapsed in a fit of laughter for at least ten minutes. Every time one of them tried to stop, they’d meet each other’s eyes and start all over again.

Eventually Keith stumbled onto the couch too, and they were both slouched with their shoulders touching, the laughter finally starting to ebb away until they were left with heavily hooded eyes and the warmth between them. What had been pooling in Lance sparked at that moment and before he knew it their lips came together. It was soft and sweet, and it made Lance’s whole body shiver with giddiness.

Their foreheads stayed pressed together for a moment before Keith climbed into Lance’s lap, face flushed and still just as gloriously shirtless as he was before.

“Did Angela say we could have fun before she showed up?”

Just the thought made Lance’s mind spin. “She didn’t clarify.”

“Got it,” Keith grinned and almost instantaneously was off of Lance and was curling into his side like a kitten. Lance didn’t even have it in him to get annoyed, he was just stunned and brought his legs up so that they were tangled together on Keith’s unfathomably soft couch.

“So, Lance,” Keith’s hands found his and were turning them over in front of his face, like he was trying to memorize the way they looked and felt, “Tell me more about your research.”

That stunned him. “It’s all pretty boring, really.”

“Try me,” Keith looked up at Lance with naked honesty, and Lance felt his insides squirm at the perfect look on the model’s perfect face.

“Oh, well, um… okay so I started working with this professor while I was in undergraduate. He was my mentor on my senior thesis. His research was mostly in solar radiation and its effects on the different kinds of cells in the eyes. I went a step further and did my project on…” 

Lance had gone over this story a thousand times before and a thousand times again, but it was different this time. Unlike most people, Keith wasn’t just smiling and nodding. He was intent, and asked follow-up questions, and made puns about specific things Lance said. It was like he actually cared about what Lance was saying, and Lance hadn't realized how badly he'd been waiting to tell someone that wasn't Hunk or Katie.

When Lance explained the experiment they were doing on cell radiation input and output, Keith’s eyes grew wide.

“You’re wickedly smart, aren’t you?”

It was inevitable that Keith would ask that, and Lance grinned and shook his head. “I’m pretty smart. Mostly I’m really good at what I do. My skill set is extremely specific.”

Keith tucked a lock of hair behind Lance’s ear, searching his eyes as the ghost of his fingers burned hot on Lance’s temple. “Are you ever going to go back to school?”

The question made Lance look away and lean back a bit, swallowing. “Eventually, yeah. My best friend Hunk was lucky enough to get into the graduate program at the school we both went to for undergraduate work, so I get to see him, and he’s preparing me for how crazy it’s going to get. I’m just waiting for life here in LA to settle, you know?”

Something stormed over in Keith’s eyes. “What do you mean, settle?”

Lance felt Keith’s fingers trail along his arms almost without conscious thought, and he tried not to pay attention to the sensation as he searched the depths of his mind for the answer.

“Angela and I, we’re a team. We both moved to LA for school. Her career has been wild, so I’ve been keeping steady for her. One of us has to do it. That way she never has to worry about money even when she’s on contract jobs. I have to be her rock.”

Understanding dawned in Keith’s eyes as his trailing fingers froze.

“You’re waiting for her to get something stable, and for things to…”

“...settle,” they said together, and for whatever reason that made a rock drop in the pit of Lance’s stomach.

Keith leaned forward and tucked his head into the crook of Lance’s neck, pressing a feather-light kiss to his pulse point. “You’re incredible, Lance, did you know that?”

Blushing furiously, Lance muttered, “I… I think I do.”

Normally he would say yes, wouldn’t he?

Normally Lance would show off based of the compliment, or play it off in a showy way. With Keith, though, Lance knew that he would see right through it. There was no point in the fake bravado. 

“That doesn’t sound very encouraging,” Keith suddenly pulled back, eyes bright and face full of life. After breathing deeply, Lance was jarred immensely when Keith shouted with vigor, “You’re incredible, Lance, did you know that?”

Lance’s soul was attached to balloons because for a moment he felt weightless as he shouted back, “Hell yeah I am!”

Then in a flash Keith was in his lap again, straddling him and holding him down with a comfortable, soothing weight so that he didn’t float into the clouds. “You have no idea how much I want you right now.”

A broken breath stuttered out of Lance as he felt Keith’s husky voice shoot right to his groin. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Keith leaned forward, breath tickling the sensitive skin beneath Lance’s ear. A shiver ran through his body. “Yeah.”

Keith looked like a man possessed. His eyes were clouded over with lust as his fingers started trailing up Lance’s arms again. They were rough hands for a model, and Lance reminded himself to ask about that later. The fingers then diverted to dance gently across Lance’s collarbone, to trail in loops down the center of Lance’s chest. Even through his shirt the unexpected nature of the touches rippled over the rest of his skin.

“We can’t…” Keith said almost as an afterthought, his hands stalling as he reached the tops of Lance’s thighs before easing onto the floor and trailing touches delicately down the side of Lance’s legs. They were shaking with anticipation as Keith started pressing heated kisses to the inside of his legs through the fabric of his jeans. 

Keith was beautiful like this, his eyes feverish in their want and his hands and lips exploring Lance with excitement. His dark hair started to come loose from his bun, framing his face in jumbled curls. Lance couldn’t help but reaching his hand out to caress Keith’s face softly, bringing him back up to straddle Lance’s lap again.

Lance brought his face almost all the way up to his own lips. They paused an inch before they made contact. The two of them hovered so close that they could see all the many starbursts of colors in each other’s eyes. They hovered with barely anything holding them back. Even the contract started to seem less and less important, less and less real compared to the embers that lay smoldering beneath their skin, edging them closer and closer together.

Then Keith leaned forward the extra inch.

The kiss was so quick that Lance barely had time to savor the feeling of Keith’s lips on his before Keith was up off the couch, turning around and trying to steady his breathing. Both of them needed a minute to cool down, and Lance felt bereft of the steadying presence of Keith’s body on his own.

Lance’s phone went off then, and it was Angela saying that she was leaving the set and would be there in twenty minutes.

Relieved, they both went into the main living area to wait for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback gives me life, even if it's just a kudos<3 Let me know how you like the fic so far! Having you guys comment motivates me to make more material :D
> 
> If you like this fic, check out my others [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith, Lance and Angela play an improvised game of truth or dare. Antics include: whipped cream, jump scares, and sexual endeavors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the longest chapter so far, and it was a delight to write.
> 
> Just a heads up, I have until chapter 12 written of this fic- yes, you heard right! There will be at least 12 chapters but probably many more. This concept has been fun and refreshing for me so I'm on board to keep this party going as long as I need it to.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Yuri! on Ice(1/10/19***)  
> (1/10/19***can you see my fanfic roots here? I want to remove it but I laughed so hard when I read that I wrote the wrong show. I'm keeping it, and I'm surprised no one called me out on it lol)

This time there were no pleasantries or fancy dinners or glasses of wine that could stop the two men from leading Angela into the bedroom as they began to strip.

“Today was hell,” she growled with frustration, “I need you to touch me.”

The two of them weren’t going to say no.

They quickly set to work stripping her from either side, their hands all over her. Keith held her from the back and pressed sloppy kisses to her neck, his hands wandering to clasp her ass tight in his hands. Lance was on his knees in front of her, pulling down the rest of her pants and trailing sucking marks along her abdomen as new stretches of skin became available.

Angela was shivering with want, and when Lance came up to press a kiss to her he then met Keith’s eyes over her shoulder. Angela nipped playfully at Lance’s neck as the two men drew together like magnets, finally able to kiss and touch like they wanted earlier. Keith made a sound almost like a whimper at the feeling, but Lance wasn’t sure because his brain was short circuiting.

They made quick work of their clothes, hands wandering and pushing and pulling roughly as the three of them touched and sought each other’s heated skin. Angela’s legs were weak and she fell to her knees on the floor, her long hair wild around her blissed out face. Keith and Lance followed her down, and Lance tapped her leg, whispering into her ear.

Biting her lip, she nodded at the suggestion, and Lance laid down on the floor. Angela scooted so that she was hovering over his face, and he touched her hips gently, bringing her down to lick at her opening, pressing and sucking at her clit. She shivered and her moans became more high-pitched and frantic. Keith appeared to have finally recovered from the sight in front of him because Lance heard the lube bottle click and soon a rough hand was encircling his own half-hard dick, urging him quickly to full hardness with twists and swiping and squeezing and Lance was so surprised that he bit down on Angela’s clit, not hard enough to break skin but enough that she screamed and pressed down harder on Lance’s face, riding it as his mouth recovered and started fucking his tongue up into her.

The feedback loop was unreal. Lance was shaking from the overstimulation of being stroked and also eating Angela out while she was riding him like a cowboy. He was grateful that he was currently on the ground, because he would have collapsed otherwise.

Lance came over his stomach like that as Keith stroked him through it. 

  
  


***

  
  


Eventually they put on the horror movies. Keith was wearing just boxers, and Angela was in a big t-shirt and nothing else. Lance had stolen Keith’s fuzzy red robe, much to Keith’s chagrin.

When Lance walked into the room, Angela was already leaning against Keith on one side, and Lance settled in next to Keith on the other side. When he started leaning towards Keith the other man opened his legs so that Lance could settle against his chest. 

Heartbeats were funny things, weren’t they? It’s an amazing experience. The first time you really hear someone’s heartbeat, the first the the  _ thump thump  _ vibrates against you, it’s as if they are suddenly and inescapably real. Keith was a real human, whose heart was thundering underneath Lance’s right ear. The heat from his body made Lance start to feel sleepy automatically. Keith’s chin fell on top of Lance’s head, and little sparks of happiness were shooting all over Lance’s skin. Maybe all of this was a dream. 

They started playing a game: they were betting on what was going to happen in the movie. If they get it right, then they get to dare someone else to do something. If they get it wrong, they have to answer a question honestly. Every time it happened they paused the movie, the three of them cuddled together and laughing at the bad special effects and gasping at the jump scares.

“Okay, that girl is going to die in the next ten seconds,” Keith bet, and in three there was an ax in her skull. 

“Shit,” Lance muttered, elbowing him playfully.

“I dare Lance to lick whipped cream off of me.”

Angela’s jaw almost dropped through the floor at the request. Apparently they weren’t messing around.

Within a few minutes Lance had a whipped cream can in hand, Keith sprawled out on the floor with a shit-eating grin.

“You little pervert,” Lance hissed teasingly, and Keith stuck his tongue out challengingly.

To shut him up Lance started tracing patterns. He knew that the cream would melt, so he knew he needed to take it a little piece at a time. He ran the tip of the can over Keith’s right arm first. He tried experimenting with the best way to do this, and quickly realized that one long lick just got whipped cream all over his nose and Keith’s floor, so he was reduced to pressing his open mouth to Keith’s skin and closing his lips around the fluffy white substance.

Lance figured that out finally at Keith’s chest, and unsurprisingly Keith started teasing him.

“Do I taste sweet, Lance?”

“Like salty whipped cream,” Lance snapped with a mouthful, that came out closer to “Li-Shy-Whid-Cr.” Keith laughed at him as Lance trailed the whipped cream across his chest and back down the other arm. Keith didn’t give a limit, so Lance figured one quick swipe across his arms and chest was enough.

Lance brushed his hot lips over the cold cream somewhere on Keith’s chest and the other boy’s hand came up into Lance’s hair as he actually  _ whined. _

Lo and behold Lance revealed a nipple after licking the cream away, swallowing the white substance and letting a mischievous laugh escape him.

“I’m never letting this go.”

“Lance…”

“Every time you get too cheeky with me I’m going to get to shut you up with this.”

“That’s ridiculous, Lance, what if we’re in public?”

Angela watched the volley back and forth as they both got more and more irritated, until Lance got so frustrated that he swirled a tall pile of whipped cream into Keith’s mouth and came forward, his breath hot against the open mouth. Lance had Keith trapped. If Keith closed his mouth, he would be spitting some of it out onto his carpet. If he tried to move his tongue to swallow he would like brush Lance’s lips in the process. 

The eye contact they were making was so intense that it almost hurt. Their eyes were burning, challenging, frustrated and turned on and playful and so many emotions that made Lance simultaneously exhilarated and terrified.

Then his tongue gently flicked into Keith’s mouth, licking some of the whipped cream out. Keith was trembling underneath Lance as the man above him dove into his mouth to lick over his teeth and tongue and next to his cheeks until his mouth was cleaned out and Lance pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of his lips while Keith struggled to remember how to close his mouth or properly function.

When they got back to the game, Keith was blushing all the way down his chest, and Angela was flicking her glance between the two of them, occasionally picking up the whipped cream can and emptying some directly into her own mouth.

“I bet that the killer is behind the door,” Lance said smugly, and the killer climbed out from behind a curtain. “Fuck.”

Angela and Keith shared a high five as the two of them started whispering what they should ask him.

“I’m going to defer to Keith because I know almost everything about you at this point. It’ll be more fun this way.”

Nope, that was way worse. Lance had switched his seat on the couch and was now perched on the arm rest, feet underneath a pillow on Keith’s cushion. They were a solid foot away, now. He tried his best to look down at his feet but when he looked up at Keith’s pondering expression he knew that he was going to have to admit to something embarrassing.

“Where is your favorite place in the world?”

The couple gaped at the man between them. 

“What?” Keith asked innocently, still looking intently at Lance. Lance caught Angela’s eye, who was also staring at him curiously.

She wasn’t sure either, then.

Lance swallowed. “Do you mean like a city? Or like a specific location?”

“Either,” Keith conceded.

Angela’s brow furrowed. “Is this for like a vacation or a trip or like they’ll be stuck there for eternity?”

Chewing on his lip, Keith thought for a moment and amended: “If the world were to end in ten minutes, and you could instantaneously travel to any one place in the world to spend the last ten minutes, where would it be?”

There was silence, the movie paused with the killer creeping up on the unsuspecting protagonist. Lance had an image in his mind, though, and he couldn’t help himself but say, “It would be… yeah, I know where. When we first moved to Cali Angela and I came a month before school started and did a road trip through the state. When we were in San Francisco we hiked for two hours and found this little beach right before sunset. It was full of rocks jutting into the ocean, and it was gorgeous.”

“Oh, I remember,” Angela’s eyes lit up with recognition of the memory. “You saw that cliff nearby, and saw some teenagers had managed to climb up there, so you insisted that it couldn’t be too hard.”

“It wasn’t, we got up in like five minutes” Lance said with a fond smile at her, “When we got to the top we were so fucking high. The ocean spread in front of us and the sun was making the ocean look positively red and it was the most indescribably beautiful thing. It was one of those moments that you weren’t sure if you should take a picture or just stare in awe. If I had ten minutes left on earth, I’d want to be up there watching the sunset again.”

There was quiet for a second as Lance and Angela made eye contact, and then Lance’s gaze shifted to Keith, who sat there looking stunned, questioning grin falling to something raw and stunned.

Lance felt his stomach drop as Angela cleared her throat and pressed “play”.

In the beginning of the movie Angela bet that the one character would make it to the end, and as he died bloody Keith and Lance were gazing over at her with smiles.

“Alright, go,” she leaned back against the couch expectantly, her blue eyes twinkling with interest.

Keith surprised them both again with his next question, which was him asking about Angela’s family.

“Oh no, you don’t know what you’ve signed yourself up for, Keith.”

Keith looked confused, but Angela just rolled her eyes and started ticking off perfectly manicured fingers. “Let’s see, there’s my mama and my papa, my abuelo, my tia, and my three older brothers, Mateo, Rafael, and Gabriel. Then there’s Rafael’s daughter Emilia, and Rafael’s wife Flora…”

“Whoa, I guess I just meant who you lived with?” Keith corrected. At least his face had lost the raw look from before, replaced with an overwhelmed and wide-eyed look.

“Oh, well, my family has a lot of land. We all live together, and we have a few smaller houses that we spread out to. Usually abuelo and my tia are in the blue one, and Rafael’s family is in the pink one. The rest of us are in the big green one.”

That seemed to blow Keith’s mind. “So your family has money, huh?”

“Kind of? It’s mostly just the land. It’s been in my family for a while.”

When Angela said that Lance shook his head at Keith, mouthing “they’re loaded” behind his hand so that she lit up red.

“That wasn’t very well hidden, darling,” she forced out, and scrubbed her hand over her face, clearly embarrassed. “Alright, let’s get back to it.”

Angela dared Keith to show them any saved dick pics on his phone, which was a surprisingly large number stored under the heading of “idiot blackmail” which made Lance snort happily.

Lance dared Angela to chug a full glass of pickle juice, which Keith oddly had on hand.

“Pickleback shots,” was his explanation, which Lance ignored in favor of watching his girlfriend’s face twist in discomfort as the bitter liquid passed her lips.

Keith finally lost halfway through the movie, and Angela and Lance were playing rock paper scissors to decide who would get to ask their question.

Angela won.

“What was your most recent relationship?”

Lance’s lips parted slightly, watching Keith for his reaction, which went from surprised to contemplative to him staring at the ceiling, biting his lip. Lance wanted to release the lip, press his own to it, but they were owed an answer.

“His name was Mason. We dated for two years, and broke up ten months ago. We lived here, actually. He was the one who decorated a lot of this place. Before he came Shiro called my place a serial killer’s paradise or some shit.”

“What happened?” Lance asked without really thinking, and Keith’s eyes snapped to his, a small smile splitting his face. 

“If you want to know, you have to play the game.”

It was a dirty trick and Lance visibly twitched, but they continued on in the game.

Angela ended up telling them all about her first kiss with Lance, to which Lance felt himself soften.

“It was on my roof. We were staring at the stars and I just got up and leaned over him and kissed him. That was it, nothing special,” she then chewed her lip, looking over at Lance, “but I remember the way your surprised eyes reflected the constellations and despite the view behind me you were staring at me like I was everything beautiful in the world.”

There was a frozen moment between Lance and Angela where Lance’s breath stuttered and Angela cringed at how her words sounded before sinking into a warm smile, leaning against the side of the couch and letting her long unruly hair run down over her shoulders.

Keith was gone for a second, the den disappearing from around them, and it was just the two of them again, on a roof in their hometown, both of them had snuck out of their windows to view the meteor shower that was supposed to happen at 3 AM, but Angela had fallen asleep not too long after the kiss and Lance didn’t have the heart to wake her. She was cuddled up to Lance’s chest.

Lance remembered that her ear was resting just over his chest, and she could hear the flutter of his heartbeat, and it only made his heart beat even faster. 

He watched the meteor shower with his hands stroking through her hair unthinkingly.

Now they were a few feet apart, staring at each other like they were seeing each other for the first time in months.

Keith pressed play on the movie.

Not too long after they started the second movie Angela won the right to a dare. She looked at the other two and said, “I dare you both to hold hands until the end of the movie.”

“That’s easy,” they both said simultaneously, looking at each other warily.

“Yeah, but you can’t let go. Once you take hands no matter what your hands have to stay together.”

Keith’s eyebrows rose, and he shrugged, looking over at Lance. “Alright, how do we want to do this?”

Lance held up his right hand, which was the side closer to Keith, and Keith held up his hand closer to Lance, the left. They threaded their fingers together and looked over at Angela for approval, who was eyeing them suspiciously before starting the movie again.

At first it was easy. Lance finally caught Keith in his trap when Keith bet that the one character was a ghost who wasn’t, and Lance asked without hesitation, “What happened to you and Mason?”

Somehow with their hands together it made the question seem more invasive, and Lance quickly felt his face heat up as a tiny frown arrived on Keith’s face. 

“We were having problems, and him and Shiro got into a fight about it. I sided with Shiro, and I kicked him out.”

It was too general, and Lance felt like he was cheated. There was another part of him that was intrigued, though. What was so intense that Shiro had to intervene?

The guesses became more sparse, and Lance had started fidgeting, trying to get comfortable without letting go of Keith’s hand, who eventually rolled his eyes and brought Lance against his chest, looping their connected arms over Lance’s head so that he was cradling Lance’s chest, hands still tangled together.

The position put Lance firmly between Keith’s legs, leaning back against his chest. Lance was being surrounded on all sides by his warmth, his slightly cinnamon smell making Lance’s mouth water.

He was sinking into the comfort of the position when Keith won a dare and pulled him up.

“Angela, when I tell you to bend over the armrest of the couch.”

She cocked her head to the side but nodded, watching as Keith pulled Lance to him with their joined hands, pressing his lips to Lance’s without kissing, just a press and a breath caught between them. 

“We’re going to get each other hard and then fuck her from both sides.”

Lance blanked. “Our hands…”

“It’s an eiffel tower, Lance. This is literally the perfect situation for it.”

Keith’s smile was teasing, and Lance’s eyes narrowed. 

“We’ll have to use our free hands,” Keith said lowly, his own free hand opening the front flap of the robe Lance was wearing and pushing it gently off his shoulders. they realized that Lance couldn’t take it all the way off while they were holding hands, so it just awkwardly dangled at where they met.

Lance made the first move, nipping at Keith’s chin as his hand slid down his boxers. For having had Keith inside of him twice now, Lance had never had him in hand like this. The heavy weight of him settled as Lance felt it out while limp, massaging it gently to start to coax it to hardness.

It only took a moment for Keith to follow suit, his own hand clutching at Lance’s partially aroused member, and when they were both stroking and made eye contact their lips found each other like magnets, a fever pitch entering their blood at the contact.

It didn’t take that long for them to be ready, for Keith to tell Angela to lean over the couch and ensure that she was okay with the plan. There was a quick question of positioning, but soon Lance was positioned at Angela’s vagina and Keith’s dick was barely an inch away from her spit-slicked lips.

“Ready?” Keith asked them both, and Angela just opened her mouth.

This was so much different than when Lance was in the middle. This position was completely up to Keith and Lance’s pushing and pace, and Angela was essentially just being used. The way she was moaning indicated that she wasn’t planning on complaining, but when Keith and Lance started to ease in, Keith’s forehead leaned against Lance’s, whispering that they needed to follow each other’s lead in order for this to feel good. Soon Lance was following his lead, Keith and him only a step behind each other in thrusts, pushing Angela between them and breathing heavily into the space of their foreheads before Lance leaned back, sweat beading on his forehead, and changed the angle in Angela, making her hands tighten on Keith’s thighs, claw marks visible from where she was holding on for dear life.

The contract said that two taps to the side of the thigh or arm indicated that someone wanted to stop when they couldn’t speak, but Angela didn’t look like she was planning on letting Keith go anytime soon to even try. Drool was starting to run down Keith’s thighs, and after a little bit Keith encouraged her to set the pace by following Lance’s thrusts. Keith stayed still so that she could take him as she pleased, enthusiastically licking and sucking at him.

Angela was fantastic at blow jobs, but she was approaching Keith differently than she would Lance. It might have something to do with the size difference affecting her movement, but it seemed like she was being rougher with Keith than she ever was with Lance.

Regardless, Lance could feel her pulse around him when she orgasmed the first time, making him see stars as he started driving in faster and faster. He came with a choked out scream, slumping over her form to catch himself on the armrest next to her head.

Keith still had to come, though, and Angela was still working but Keith looked troubled, like something wasn’t feeling right. Lance pulled out of Angela and kissed her shoulder as he rounded on Keith.

The model’s eyes were closed, so he startled a bit as Lance came and kneeled behind him on the couch, free hand stroking his sides playfully and swirling around his chest until he stroked Keith’s pert nipples.

The tiny gasp that he drew out made Lance grin with power. His fingers continued working on the sensitive nubs each in turn as Keith started fucking into Angela’s mouth again. The grip between their joined hands was so tight that Lance thought he might lose circulation. Lance was positively giddy when Keith fell apart in his hands, spilling into Angela’s waiting mouth. She looked up at Lance and made eye contact as she swallowed in a few short twitches of her throat. 

Keith was slumped against Lance, sweaty back to Lance’s sweaty chest, breathing in and out together, and Lance pressed a kiss to his shoulder too.

“I think the game is over,” Keith whispered breathily, starting to lean heavier against Lance, cheeks nuzzling against Lance’s chest.

“Yeah,” Lance answered, and the three of them went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: It's Lance and Angela's anniversary!
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works). I've got a little bit of everything!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Langela's anniversary comes around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up this chapter is mostly just Langela fluff. There is an interesting nugget about Keith wedged in there, too, don't worry. 
> 
> I just love giving lover boy Lance his time to play to his inner hopeless romantic<3
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Hunk was peering at Lance thoughtfully, completely ignoring his own work.

Katie frowned and glanced between the two of them with confusion. Her eyes were scrunched up in thought, her own work also falling to the wayside.

Finally she broke the spell. “Okay, Hunk why are you just staring at Lance?”

“That’s a fantastic question, Pidgeon. It might help if we all acknowledge today’s date,” Hunk said it in a grandiose type of way, like he was conveying a very important secret. “Go ahead, I will wait.”

Katie frowned, eyeing her phone. “I don’t understand, it’s not anyone’s birthday, it’s not a holiday, what does…  _ oh shit _ ,” Her eyes bugged out in understanding. “Hunk, tomorrow is Langela’s anniversary!”

Lance at last had acknowledged that the two of them were talking about him when he heard what Katie had said. “Who decided that our couple name would be Langela? I thought we decided on Lancela.”

The grad student snorted at that, shaking his head and making the ends of his headband sway. “No, Lancela sounds like a scary Disney villain. Langela is your couple name, but that isn’t the point. We need to know what the legendary Lance is planning for the anniversary this year.”

“Last year you had the two of us running around like chickens with our heads cut off to help you prepare,” Katie remembered with furrowed brows. “Are you taking it down a notch this year?”

At that Lance whistled. “You guys don’t have enough faith in me. You’ll know what I’m planning after tomorrow, but last year someone,” he eyed Katie up with mild agitation, “spoiled part of the surprise, so this year it’s just me, myself and I planning things out.”

“I feel slighted,” Katie clutched at her chest dramatically. “I’ll have to complain to my new friend about how cruel you are, Lance.”

The two boys frowned at her. “New friend?”

Rolling her eyes like it was obvious, she muttered, “You know, Shiro’s brother. He’s been helping me figure out New York City in case I go to school out there. Three of the programs I’m applying for are out there. He’s a pretty cool dude, so we’ve been spending time together.”

Lance was filled with mild dread, worrying about Katie finding out about them. Actually, strike that, they had planned to tell the people in their lives about the arrangements. He was suddenly extremely worried about Katie finding out from Keith instead of him.

Lance tried his best to curb his desire to blurt out about how Keith was his… something. 

After that the three of them all actually started to work. Lance was starting to ease from worrying about Katie and Keith to getting excited about the plans that he had for the next day.

Angela and him had been going out for twelve years, which means that Lance has gotten into a habit of planning elaborate anniversaries. The purpose was to avoid getting into a rut of just dinner and a movie like a lot of other couples had. What started as sunset picnics on the beach evolved over the years to elaborate sky writing and a surprise three-day trip to New York.

Last year Lance had needed help wrangling the flash mob, so he had confided in Hunk and Katie to help him plan. Somehow, though, when they reached the part of the street when the flash mob was set to start the music, she started peeking around herself nervously like she knew. When Lance had held out his hand for her to walk further, she had to take a deep breath and glance all around her, eventually eyeing out all of the similarly dressed people, before she allowed them to start the performance.

This year was going to be as secret as he could make it.

  
  


***

  
  


The next morning when Angela woke up it was to the smell of lavender and coffee. When she rolled out of bed, she followed her nose to the kitchen, where Lance was mixing pancake batter, humming as he sprinkled chocolate chips into it.

“How domestic,” Angela said with a radiant grin. When Lance saw her in the doorway, he put the bowl down and crossed the short distance to pull her into a kiss before he leaned back and pressed their foreheads together.

“Happy anniversary my love. I’ve already drawn a bath for you. The bath bomb is on the side of the tub waiting. When you get out we’re having pancakes.”

When she walked into the bathroom the scent of essential oils was strong, most likely coming from the diffuser that was propped up on the counter. Angela undressed and watched the bath bomb twirl in the water. It exploded in dark blues, looking like the night sky with a sparkling flash of glitter like stars. When she slid in, it was like she was sliding into shadow.

Lance knocked a few minutes later with a coffee cup in his hand. “It’s made just the way you like it.”

Her smile was infectious as she stared in admiration and adoration at her boyfriend. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I ask myself that about you every day,” Lance reassured, pressing another light kiss to her forehead.

When they sat around eating pancakes with whipped cream on top, Angela asked, “There isn’t going to be a flash mob again this year, is there?”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “I’m not telling you, you know that.”

“I can’t handle the stress of waiting for the mob of people again,” she bemoaned, mouth full of fluffy chocolate chip pancake. 

“If you didn’t cheat and bribe Katie into telling you about it, you wouldn’t have been stressed all day waiting for it last time,” Lance snapped back, then smiled, “trust me, okay? I love you, and I love loving you. The only hint you’re getting is that you need to get home by six. Your outfit will be waiting for you on the bed.”

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Alright, then.”

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was at Allura’s place in Malibu. Her large house lead out to a private dock, where her father’s yacht, The Red Lion, was drifting atop the sparkling navy waters of the Pacific. Lance himself was setting up all the materials for his date with Angela while Allura and Lotor lounged on the deck, watching him with amusement.

“You’re sure you don’t want help, Lance?” she offered again, taking a sip of her margarita as she lowered her sunglasses to make eye contact.

“I’m good, don’t worry,” Lance reassured, continuing to hang the string lights, the hot midday sun bearing down on the three of them.

Lotor got up and made Lance his own margarita, sensing some tension in the boy.

When he was handed the drink, Lance wiped some sweat from his face, eyeing the other man warily. “You said your name was Lotor?”

The silver-haired man nodded, flashing a grin that was somehow both vicious and endearing. “I teach biomechanical engineering.”

Allura rolled her eyes. “You love throwing that one around, don’t you?”

Lance had to fight the grin rising up on his cheeks. Allura and him weren’t normally particularly close on their own, but they’ve worked together for a few years on different projects and are friends with the same people. Lance was nervous to ask for her help, but she jumped on the opportunity immediately, saying that her and Lotor would even hire some people to drive the boat and serve their meal.

Lance cringed at the thought of Katie finding out that he sought help from Allura. What Katie didn’t know won’t hurt her, right?

Lance had said it was too much, but Allura wasn’t taking no for an answer. Sometimes Lance wondered if she ever got lonely being one of only seven females on the school research staff that held a PhD. They were scattered throughout different departments, too, so Lance had a sneaking suspicion that she was the type to hold on tightly to the people she legitimately cared about, and Lance was unbelievably grateful.

“So you guys met at the summer staff barbecue?” Lance probed, remembering the two of them sucking face behind a tree by the end of the night, startling Lance and Angela who had also gone to hide behind that tree and make out.

“Yeah. We aren’t labeling it as anything yet, though,” Allura smirked at Lotor, who rolled his eyes.

“If we label it then I have to meet her father,” Lotor said with a very serious face, and she just stuck her tongue out.

Lance wasn’t sure what Allura’s father did, but he owned at least three properties within the LA area, so he had to be someone pretty rich and important. He could imagine that meeting Alfor would be nerve wracking for anyone.

“Oh, so are you guys seeing other people?” Lance asked curiously, and they both looked up at each other in panic.

“I, um…” Lotor started as Allura whispered, “it’s not…”

Then the two of them started laughing hysterically, almost dropping their drinks as they realized that they were both about to admit to the same thing. Lance was still a little lost, not following their ability to read each other, but just shrugged and went along with it.

“We are seeing other people, then, I guess,” Lotor looked relieved and Allura was visibly relaxing, the two of them falling onto the deck’s couch with green upholstering and blue throw pillows.

It wasn’t something he understood, but the two of them seemed to be happy, and that was what was important.

This felt like a good time to mention it, right? Keith, Angela and him had said they would tell the group as it was appropriate, and he couldn’t think of a better time than talking about the complexity of monogamy.

“Yeah, um, Angela and I brought someone into our sex life. He’s, uh… he’s actually someone you’ve met before, heh heh,” Lance was rubbing the back of his neck as the two of them gazed at him, both of their sunglasses hiding a good portion of their expression. Lance wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. “You know Shiro’s brother Keith, right?”

Allura spit out her drink across the spotless deck, making Lotor chuckle and pat her back reassuringly to ensure that she was breathing.

“You… you and Angela are having sex with Keith?” Allura seemed dazed, sunglasses having fallen off in the spit-take. 

Lance swallowed, rubbing at the vase he was currently filling with fake flowers and shells. “Yes? Why do you… like I get it if you think it’s weird that Angela and I are…”

“No, oh no Lance that’s not… I’m just surprised that Keith is putting himself out there.”

Lotor and Lance both looked at her questioningly, and she sighed, brushing back her own long silver hair with nerves. 

“I know that he’s been taking time to focus on himself right now. Shiro gave me the impression that he wasn’t planning on pursuing anything… romantic.”

“Well,” Lance said, though he knew that what he was saying was absolute bullshit, “It’s just sex.”

“I guess that makes sense, then,” she continued sipping on her margarita like nothing happened, and Lotor pressed a kiss to her forehead and sat back down next to her.

Lance felt like Keith was dangling just beyond his reach. There were moments that he would get close to touching him, where he became a real person before his eyes, but then a mysterious comment or a sudden realization will drag the dark-haired man far away again. Keith was constantly going from a friend to a stranger and back again.

Eventually Lance and Allura said good-bye to Lotor, who had to run to a meeting, and they went back into Allura’s expansive closet.

“She’s the same size that I was two years ago, and I don’t fit any of that anymore anyway. Here’s what we have to select from,” Allura ran her hand along a three-foot expanse of hangers. Lance believed that Allura’s closet was bigger than his whole apartment, but he quickly got distracted by the task at hand. Allura and him combed through the options, and after Allura picked out a certain color spectrum they had about five viable options, to which Allura looked critically.

“I think we should go with this one,” she reached out and plucked a simple navy blue number with an off-shoulder neckline. The material looked like thick satin, with delicate folds and a navy blue ribbon tying around the waist, cutting off in a bow on the back.

“It’s perfect,” Lance said with a grin. When he looked over at Allura, he recognized for the first time that they could probably be much closer friends. 

That prompted Lance to earnestly thank her for her help.

“It’s no problem, Lance. Anything for a friend.”

  
  


***

  
  


To say that Angela looked stunning in the gown was an understatement. Lance’s stomach twisted up in knots when he caught sight of her wearing it, her hair done up into an elaborate spiralling bun. Ringlets fell around her face, framing her radiant smile and making Lance’s throat go dry.

“How do I look?” she asked, spinning in a circle so the skirt of the dress flew up just past her knees. 

Instead of answering Lance came up and kissed her gently, careful not to mess her lipstick up too much. “Beautiful.”

Lance himself was in a tuxedo that Allura had “borrowed” from Lotor, which was a little big around the shoulders but otherwise a good fit. The two of them walked out to an awaiting car, and held hands as Angela tried to guess where they were going.

When they arrived at Allura’s house, where Angela herself had never been before, she was confused. 

“Did you… rent us a house?”

“Just follow me.”

After working most of the afternoon on the lights, Lance hadn’t gotten a chance to really see the effect, but it was clear on Angela’s face that he’d been successful. Tiny lanterns were lining the way back to the dock, and the yacht itself was done up in blue and gold string lights, flameless candles sparkling all around the deck of the ship. 

Angela followed the lights with awe as Lance strolled a few steps behind her, high off the joy of watching Angela’s face morph from shock to excitement to happy tears as she saw that Lance had set up small boards with his favorite pictures of them, from teenagers to now, and without warning she turned around and threw herself at him, apparently unconcerned with the state of her hair.

“I love you so much, Lance McClain,” her voice was throaty and full of emotion, and tears started to gather in his eyes as well.

“I love you too, Angela Garcia.”

***

  
  


At lab the next day, Katie was sitting on Lance’s desk with a pout, her arms crossed over her Green Lantern t-shirt. 

“Allura? Really? You refused to tell anyone about your plans, but you could tell Allura?!”

Lance saw that Hunk wasn’t in yet, so he asked, “How did you find out?”

“I’ve been on Allura’s yacht, I recognized it from the pictures.”

“I couldn’t involve any of you, and Allura was willing to help. She doesn’t talk to Angela much one-on-one so I figured she’d be perfect to help out with planning. Come on, Pidgeon…”

“...don’t call me that…”

“...you know why I had to do this. You know how seriously I take anniversaries.”

Katie’s face started to soften to a light grimace, arms still crossed. “Hunk texted me this morning asking if I knew anything, and I told him about the yacht. He’s not going to be happy with you either.”

Rolling his eyes, Lance ruffled her hair fondly. His friends were weird and nosy, but they had good hearts. After a few seconds of defrosting Katie was asking all about the night.

“It was perfect, Katie. Everything went perfectly.”

It was true. The staff had kept the food warm, there wasn’t a single wave on the water when they got out far enough, and the weather held up for them. 

When they got back to the apartment Lance had a surprise of his own waiting. There had been a trail of rose petals leading to the bed. Freshly lit candles were sitting across the bedroom, flames dancing against the walls. There had been a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, and a bottle of champagne on ice.

Angela had picked up a strawberry and brought it to her own lips, getting her face just inches away from Lance’s, and took a delicate bite.

“Happy anniversary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Lance and Angela get shocking news and Angela has a heart-to-heart with her friend
> 
> Comments and kudos give me life<3 I have a lot mapped out for this fic and if you guys show interest I would love to put out all of my planned content!
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)! "Fancy Meeting You Here" is about Keith going undercover to take down a sex trafficking operation. "How Fondly Loves (The Homesick Heart)" is about the five humans coming to terms with returning to earth. That's not all, folks, so if you're on a Voltron binge come on down


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Angela get news that might change the course of their lives. Later, Angela has a heart-to-heart with her friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA is that two chapters in two days?!?! Crazy, right?!
> 
> Anyway, hey dudes! This is when things start to kick into high gear a bit. Be prepared for some angst moving forward. Also, there will be some science in this chapter. Lemme know if it confuses you and I can provide a summary in the end notes.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Lance was in the lab room for the first time in almost two weeks, tweaking dials and teaching one of the new undergraduate assistants how to work with the radiation, and the proper safety precautions.

When he came back into the office, Hunk showed the recruit to the locker where they can keep their personal safety gear, and Lance watched the two of them go.

A throat was cleared nearby, and Lance was surprised to see none other than their supervising professor, Coran, standing awkwardly in the doorway. “Lance, can I talk to you for a tick?”

Coran had some pretty odd ways of defining time, insisting that the way that we currently keep track of it doesn’t make sense and should be changed to a more universal system. Lance usually listened to most of Coran’s long winded rants with half an ear, more often than not thinking about something completely separate at the same time.

This time Coran was explaining that it would be far more environmentally conscious to transform plant-based nutrients into a food goo instead of eating elaborate and complicated meals the way they did now. Lance smiled and nodded at the correct intervals. He had worked with Coran for a while, now, and knew him well enough to know that he preferred to go on his rants unperturbed.

When they reached Coran’s office, Lance settled into the bean bag chair on the floor next to Coran’s desk, the older man settling onto his own yoga ball. 

“Lance, my boy, I have something very serious to discuss with you.”

His stomach dropped.

He was going to be fired, he knew it. He knew that this would happen eventually. He knew that Coran would want to replace Lance with younger and fresher minds in the lab. Unlike Hunk, Lance wasn’t furthering his education, and he was slowly becoming obsolete. He hadn’t taken a proper college course in a few years…

His insecurities were cut off when Coran pulled out a report that Lance himself had written and handed him a copy.

“I was going through the report on the data you submitted the other day. I think that we have enough data for us to hand it to the undergraduates to do the charts and stats while I write the paper. However, I noticed something interesting while I was going through the report,” Coran flipped to the third page, where Lance was explaining his possible hypotheses for the findings.

Lance flipped to the page in question, rereading his own notes. “I don’t know if any of these are particularly interesting, you just always ask us to include our thoughts in the reports, so…”

“Absolutely correct, Lance. Do you know why I ask you to include a section on hypotheses and theories about our findings?” Coran waggled his eyebrows with an excited smile, waiting on Lance’s answer.

“Um, because it shows that we’re actively engaging in the research?” Lance offered feebly.

“Well, yes, but it’s also because you have a very different perspective than me. I go about my research with a particular frame of mind, but whenever one of my staff hands in a report with their own thoughts it opens up my mind to possibilities I hadn’t previously thought possible,” he smiled knowingly, and Lance didn’t want to believe it, but was Coran saying that he’d stumbled across something important?

“This particular section stuck out to me,” Coran cleared his throat and read, “‘the interesting aspect of some of the unique bacteria colonies is that they seem to be absorbing the radiation and converting it to an energy that we cannot currently measure. Though most can be accounted for as contributing to ATP production and reproduction, there is a gap that cannot be explained. Interestingly enough Katie Holt is working on a method of detecting a previously undetectable living energy source separate to the normal energy production methods called quintessence. I would be interested to see if she could use her methods to account for the gap in energy conversion.’”

Lance remembered writing that after helping Katie edit her final proposal. The two of them discussed jokingly if Katie’s research could be applicable to Coran’s, but they were kidding. They hadn’t thought it would be taken so seriously, especially with Katie’s research still in such early stages.

“I’ve been running the budget, and I think that I can apply for another grant in the next few weeks. Don’t tell Katie, but her research has sparked a lot of interest in the community. I think it would be wise for us to run a concurrent experiment with similar parameters to this most previous one on radiation, in order to further Katie’s theory. She’ll be able to get her name on two papers, and we’ll have more evidence to back up her claims.”

The younger man’s mind was whirring. Research usually was competitive, but the way that Coran’s eyes shown proved that this could be something world changing, something that could be a historic finding.

“I think that Katie can handle her own experiment fine, but I want someone with more experience to head up the other experiment. Hunk is swamped with his graduate classes, but I know someone who would be more qualified for the job.”

Lance blinked. “I'm confused, who is it?”

Chuckling, Coran patted him on the shoulder. “You, number three!”

“I… you… what?!” Lance was startled. He had been included on papers before as an investigator, but he hadn’t headed up his own project since he was a senior in college. On top of that, this project made his senior thesis look like child’s play. 

“I’ll be the Principal Investigator, of course, and we still will need to hear back about whether we get approved for the grant, but I think that the university is very excited by the project. Lance, this is an incredible opportunity for you. This is the type of stuff that ends up in prestigious academic journals and gets you noticed by PhD programs.”

Lance always wanted to go back eventually, but… suddenly the idea made him nauseous. This was a huge project. What if he messed it up? What if the findings aren’t significant enough to warrant further study? Or if it did work, what if a PhD program really took interest in him? Would… would he go?

“It’s a lot of responsibility, and we’re still waiting on some chips to fall, but I wanted to let you know that you, number three, are my number one choice for this. Do I have your permission to discuss your report with some colleagues of mine to drum up some ideas?”

“I… yeah, sure,” Lance said weakly, and Coran nodded, waving towards the door.

“I have papers to grade and you have some background research to do, my boy.”

Lance walked out of the office into the fluorescent lighting of the hallway, stunned.

This was big. This wasn’t just big, it was huge. Coran trusted him to take the lead on something that could have monumental implications to their field.

With a giddy jump, Lance took off down the hall to tell Katie and Hunk the good news.

  
  


***

  
  


Angela was sitting in the staff meeting waiting for the rest of the staff to video conference in. She was flipping through her phone passively when she finally heard someone clear their throat.

“Alright everyone, as you all know we’ve been in talks with the studio about the budget and what it would cost to replicate the setting of the second half of the book, and after careful deliberation the production company approved us flying out to shoot in Ireland.”

There was excited chatter in the room, and Angela’s phone fell to the table with a soft  _ plunk _ . 

One of the producers piped up. “For how long?”

“The current budget is for three months, as long as we don’t have too many reshoots.”

Three months in Ireland. Three months in another country, away from Lance, away from her friends. 

They continued to talk logistics. The date that they’d fly out was November 15th, a little less than two months away.

After the meeting, her friend Scarlett and her were walking back to set. Scarlett was one of the minor characters in the film, and was the one that had put in a good world for Angela in the first place. They had been friends since Angela moved out here, and so Scarlett was eyeing her warily.

“How are you doing, Ang?”

“How do you think?” Angela moaned, shaking her head. “They’re just uprooting out lived for three months without any warning. Is this how these things usually go?”

“Sometimes, not always,” Scarlett admitted, brushing her hair back and taking a sip of her coffee. “Are you worried about you and Lance?”

Pausing, Angela sighed, visibly deflating. “Want to get a drink after work?”

Blinking in shock, Scarlett said, “Of course, girl. No problem.”

  
  


***

  
  


Later that evening Angela and Scarlett were settled in the corner of a bar, splitting a plate of loaded french fries.

Scarlett was classically pretty. Her parents knew that she was going to be an actress someday, and named her accordingly. Her body was unbelievably thin and lanky, with long dark hair that fell in loose waves around her face. She had the soft smile and dark brown eyes of her Korean mother, and the high cheekbones and of her Russian father. She was eyeing Angela with interest, waiting for her to pause her eating to get to talking about whatever she needed to talk about.

“Does this have to do with leaving Lance for three months?”

She closed her eyes, rubbing her temple and breathing out heavily. “If you had asked me a year ago, I would have been ecstatic. I wouldn’t have any worries about being apart from him for so long, but… something changed, Scarlett. We used to talk about getting married all the time. We used to jokingly design our dream house, and plan our futures together, but the last few months it’s like something is missing.”

Her words made her twirl her vodka cranberry thoughtfully, a frown growing on her face. 

“So this has nothing to do with that dude you guys are sleeping with?”

“What, Keith?” Angela was stunned, “No, no way. We’ve only been seeing him for a few weeks. This problem… if it’s even a problem… has been festering for longer than that. It feels like we’re farther away than we’ve ever been and I couldn’t tell you why.”

Scarlett hummed and took a sip of her martini, studying Angela carefully.

“Keith isn’t the problem. If anything, he’s kept our love life exciting and new. If anything, he’s helping. When we first started feeling distant I thought that maybe it was because Lance had been questioning his sexuality. I figured if I gave Lance the go ahead to bring a man in that he’d feel more confident in himself. Keith did more than that, though, he’s more than just a boy toy. I wonder…”

Scarlett raised an eyebrow, chewing on a cheesy fry.

“...I wonder if Keith is just delaying the inevitable.”

Her friend almost choked. “Wait what!? You think Lance and you are going to break up? You’ve been together forever!”

“I didn’t say that,” Angela muttered with a blush, “I just think that we’re using Keith to delay having a talk about all the distance. The other day we were talking about our first kiss, and I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I daydreamed about us kissing. I can’t remember the last time we went on a real adventure. I’m just… what do I do?” she looked at her friend imploringly, distraught.

Both of them stared at each other grimly for a few moments.

“You need to talk to him, girl.”

Angela took a swig of her drink to finish it, and ordered another one.

  
  


***

When Angela’s uber brought her home, tipsy and a little emotional, she stared at the door to their apartment for a solid ten minutes before she managed to unlock it and enter.

Lance was on his computer at the kitchen table, and when he looked up his face melted into a warm, sugar-coated smile.

Angela felt her hands start to tremble, guilt burying itself deep in her gut.

“Welcome home. Did you have fun with Scarlett?”

Tears started to gather in her eyes, and Lance hopped up immediately, coming over to brush a finger lovingly over her cheek and kiss away the tears.

“It’s okay, love. What’s going on? Do you want to talk about it?”

A broken sob ripped out of her chest, and Lance quickly helped her out of her jacket and shoes and brought her over to the bed, getting out her comfiest pajamas and brewing tea for her. She curled up in a ball as her boyfriend continued to be perfect. He brought her mint tea, and helped her into her pajamas, and then pulled her into his lap, singing their song in his slightly off-key voice as always.

It was perfect. Everything should be perfect, right? They loved each other. They took care of each other. This should be enough, this should be enough, this should be enough… right?

Eventually the tears dried on her cheeks, leaving salty tracks in their wake, and she didn’t have the heart to climb out of Lance’s arms. In this moment, everything was fine. She was safe in Lance’s arms, safe from every bad thought she had had that day. For a short while she let herself sink into the warmth and the love, before Lance kissed her forehead three times and whispered, “Are you okay, now?”

A dead feeling spread in her chest, the two of them cradled in the suspended animation that came before a drop. “No, no I’m not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Keith, Lance, and Angela all take time to assess their relationships with each other
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos give me life<3 Don't forget to let me know how you're liking it so far!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things between Lance and Angela get tense. Keith has a heart to heart with Shiro and Adam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all my lovelies!!!
> 
> As usual, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has been commenting<3 Your feedback gives me life so any and all comments are read, responded to, and appreciated.
> 
> This chapter is going to be a doozy. Strap in, folks.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Lance sat, stunned into silence, as Angela told him in a heavy voice that they were filming in Ireland for three months.

“You… you can teleconference in, right? You don’t have to travel with them.”

“I do, though. I can’t risk not being on set, I’m still trying to make connections. I can’t do that with teleconferencing.”

Angela was still cradled in Lance’s arms in bed, cheek resting against his shoulder as he stiffened.

“When would you be leaving?”

“November 15th is the date that they want us flying out. Lance, I can’t stay behind. This is my big break, I have to follow through with it.”

“I know,” Lance reassured, “I know you do. This will be huge for you. I guess I’m just trying to remember the last time that we were apart for longer than a few weeks.”

With a stab to her chest, Angela realized that they had never been apart for longer than her family’s vacation to China for three weeks during her high school years. They had been attached at the hip for twelve years, moving with each other and evolving with each other.

This would mean something, Angela knew, but she was too afraid to wonder what.

  
  


***

  
  


Hunk and Katie were watching Lance across the library table from them, both a little concerned.

“What?” he snapped at them, and Hunk flinched. “Sorry.”

His best friend lowered his laptop screen. “You haven’t said a word since we sat down. Usually when you’re doing a literature review you’re begging Katie for help with your searches.”

Lance visibly deflated. “It’s Angela. Something happened, and I’m worried.”

The two of their eyes flew open wide, clamoring out a strangled “What?!

“The movie she’s working on is shooting in Ireland for three months. She’s leaving in November.”

The two of them were still in shock. Hunk asked quietly, “Are you going with her?”

Lance looked up in confusion. “What do you mean, just dropping my life here and following her to another country?”

Biting her lip, Katie said tentatively, “I mean, that’s what you do, right? Where Angela goes, you follow. You guys have that whole ocean and moon thing that you like to talk about.”

“I… no, I can’t just up and leave. I have a life here.”

Hunk “Coran would understand, dude. You’ve been a loyal employee for years. You’ll probably be able to come back and pick up where you left off.”

“I…” Lance struggled with that, struggled to come up with a reason why that was implausible, but after a few minutes he started to wonder why he was  _ looking _ for reasons not to go.

“Coran has you working on his new project though, right Lance?” Katie piped up, voice shaking a little bit, “If you leave you might not be able to take the lead on it.”

“Right! Right, yeah, I can’t give that opportunity up, Hunk. Angela will understand, plus she didn’t mention me coming anyway.”

“That’s because it’s your decision, dude,” Hunk muttered, but then his eyes widened. “Wait, Angela is leaving on November 15th?”

Katie and Lance both met each other’s eyes, pausing in their typing. “Why?”

“Guys, November 17th is  _ the day. _ ” Hunk looked panicked now, eyes flicking back and forth between them looking for recognition.

The two of them were still lost, but Hunk finally said, “You know, the big thing I have planned?”

That was when Lance yelled, “Fuck!” loud enough that some of the people nearby flashed them a combination of looks including annoyed, concerned, and sympathetic.

“Yeah.”

“We have to reschedule everything now,” Hunk’s hands were trembling, “I have to call her. I have to…”

“Hunk, dude, chill. I’ll talk to Angela and deal with the arrangements. You have enough on your plate, okay?”

Katie eyes him warily. “I mean, your life isn’t exactly puppies and rainbows right now, either…”

“I’ve got it,” Lance cut her off, eyes brightening. He loved projects and plans. He planned their anniversary every year, he threw a huge bash for each of their birthdays. His favorite thing to do was plan exciting things for the people he cared about, “Leave it all to me.”

  
  


***

  
  


When Lance got home that night, Angela was already curled up on the couch watching  _ Grey’s Anatomy _ for the fourth time, a glass of wine in her hand. She smiled when Lance came in.

“Hey,” she said softly as Lance dropped his bag and kicked off his shoes, thumping onto the couch next to her. “I have some fun news.”

“What’s up?”

“There’s going to be a big party for the movie staff this weekend. The production manager rented out a rooftop bar, and everyone is invited and allowed a guest. You’re on the list, hot shot.”

Lance couldn’t remember the last time the two of them went out to something like that, and a thrill of excitement went through him. “That sounds awesome. I can’t wait to meet the rest of the staff. I’ve heard about enough of them, it’ll be nice to put faces to names.”

“Yeah,” she said softly, fidgeting with her glass.

The two of them watched the show for a few minutes before she asked, “Hey, Lance?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“How would you feel about just Keith and I getting together this weekend?”

Automatically his stomach flipped, and he wanted to say “no, no way in hell,” but instead he said, “Just let me know if you end up making solid plans. I got some alone time with him, so you should, too.”

The two of them cuddled and sipped wine and tried their best not to acknowledge the many things stacking between the two of them.

  
  


***

  
  


Keith was sitting around on Saturday night, internally panicking.

This was one of those moments that he wished that he had a friend that he could just call up and chat with, but he wasn’t one for casual friendships. He had Shiro and Adam, and their friends. He had a few party buddies from modeling, but he hadn’t talked to them in weeks.

He had Lance and Angela, but he couldn’t call them if they were the problem.

Well, not exactly a  _ problem _ . Keith started pacing, throwing on some alternative rock and talking himself through it. He didn’t talk to himself because he had an illness or anything. He just used it to work through things sometimes when he was alone and trying to get his thoughts laid out neatly instead of jumbled up in his head.

Angela had asked Keith to meet up that night. Lance and her were going to a party, and afterward she was going to swing by. Keith had said yes, because he was lonely and could use some company, but there was something about it that felt wrong. 

He felt sick for some reason, like he was betraying Lance, but he couldn’t be betraying Lance. They were following the contract. Lance knew that they were going to meet up that weekend. Angela and him were just going to have sex and pass out, nothing that would be considered date material and thus off limits.

Keith couldn’t stop thinking about Lance. He saw him spread out underneath Keith on the sofa, not allowed to kiss but skirting the edges of their contract by touching each other all over. He saw the man’s blue eyes bright and eager as he leaned over Keith, full of whipped cream, licking his perfect plump lips with confidence and hunger. He saw Lance’s flustered face as he asked to be fucked again. He saw the earnest excitement Lance had had when discussing that cliff in San Francisco, his face passing into a dream-like state as if he was travelling back before Keith’s very eyes, and Keith felt like Lance’s honeyed words were transporting him too.

“This set-up was supposed to be no strings attached!” Keith yelled as he kicked his ottoman, enjoying the dent it made in the side. It had been Mason’s.

“Why did this have to happen? Why did they have to be so nice and hot and friendly? I didn’t ask for any of this!” 

There was some part of Keith that knew that he sounded like a whiny brat, but he couldn’t help it.

“I just… I’m going to… this is so fucked up!”

The sound of a door opening and closing made Keith jump up, watching Shiro and Adam ascend the stairs with mirrored expressions of surprise at Keith’s flushed face and angry expression.

“Uh… want to talk about it?” Adam held up a bottle of wine and a grocery bag of ingredients. Right, Keith remembered, they had plans to make dinner together tonight. They tried to do it once or twice a month, but it had flew out of Keith’s mind.

Now, even though he tended to be a loner, he was relieved to not have to go through this alone.

They were making Chicken Francaise, and as Shiro was preparing the chicken and Adam cutting up the vegetables Keith was squeezing the lemons out with a sour face.

“You both know about my arrangement with Lance and Angela, right?”

Adam feigned shock at the revelation, but Keith knew that Shiro told him. Shiro shared everything with Adam, so Keith just rolled his eyes and muttered, “So anyway, Lance and Angela. We’ve hung out a few times now, and they’re really cool people, but… I think I’m starting to have feelings.”

The couple looked at each other with knowing glances, making Keith feel very small.

“I didn’t think that you were ready for that yet,” Shiro prodded gently, and Keith just narrowed his eyes.

“I didn’t ask for the feelings, Shiro! They’re just there!”

The other man backed off, continuing to trim the fat off the chicken. “Got it, sorry.”

Adam piped up, “Which one?”

“What?”

The other man peered over his glasses at Keith. “Which one do you have feelings for?”

“Lance,” Keith said his name like a sigh, like an admission of vulnerability, like a wish that died on his lips.

They had moved onto frying up the chicken, and Shiro and Keith worked in an assembly line to flour and cook as Adam lounged on the other side of the counter, gazing at Keith with interest. The whole kitchen was starting to smell like a home-cooked meal, and it made Keith smile a little bit despite the hole in his stomach.

“It doesn’t matter, anyway,” Keith’s voice was trembling as he finished off the last piece of chicken and handing it to Shiro, who took it with a frown.

“Why not?” his “big brother” voice was coming out again, and Keith felt a stab of annoyance jab through him.

“I don’t know, Shiro, maybe because it’s never going to happen!”

The snap wasn’t warranted, but Keith didn’t care. Shiro didn’t look hurt by the words, but more likely was trying to put meaning to what Keith was trying to say. “Why do you think that?”

“He’s been with Angela for years! They live together, they were each other’s first kiss, they were each other’s first everything! Lance moved halfway around the world for her, and is putting off school so that they can be close! Do you really think that I can compete with that? Do you really think that someone as damaged and fucked up as me can compete with her? Even  _ I  _ like her better than me most of the time! He will always choose her, Shiro, and it’s killing me.”

The only sound in the kitchen was the hissing and spitting of the cooking chicken on the pan as Adam and Shiro both tried to come up with something to say.

“Maybe you should stop seeing them, then,” Shiro said softly, but knew that it was the wrong move.

“They’re two of the nicest friends I have right now, Shiro. I can’t… it hurts but they’re still good for me. I’d rather have this than nothing at all.”

Adam picked up the bottle of wine and poured Keith a full glass, passing it over to Keith as a peace offering. “I think you need this more than any of us.”

  
  


***

Lance and Angela stood at the entrance to the rooftop bar, watching the lights dance against the building above them in anticipation.

“I can’t wait to get you on the dance floor,” Lance squeezed her closer to him, and they entered with excitement brewing between them.

When they got up to the roof, the party was already in full swing. It was chaos, wine being poured out liberally, people dancing and screaming, a few of the stars booked for the movie surrounded by their entourage and sectioned off into their own booths near the bar.

“This is wild,” Lance said, grinning happily. Angela grabbed his hand loosely and brought him over to Scarlett and the rest of her friends from the set.

“This is Jesse,” she nodded to the gender neutral set designer to her left, hair half shaved and the other half dyed bright pink, “and this is Lina,” she pointed at one of the production assistants that was nursing a Moscow Mule and smiling like she’d taken some really nice drugs. “You know Scarlett,” she touched Scarlett’s arm, and her friend hugged Lance quickly. 

“We’re going to go dance right now, but when we tire out we’ll come back over and you can grill him, okay?” she said with a winning smile, and Jesse raised their glass and told them to have fun. Scarlett just wolf whistled as the two of them walked away.

When Lance got Angela to the raised platform for dancing, the lights spinning around them dizzyingly, they were the only two on the dance floor, but that was how they liked it.

In college both of them really enjoyed attending dance clubs, so they were both pretty experienced dancers in a variety of styles, and when “Closer” by the Chainsmokers came on, they grinned and came together, Lance leading then into West Coast Swing Dancing with smooth movements and tight spins. The two of them moved like gears in the same machine around each other. Dancing was all about responding to the other person’s body, and Lance and Angela knew each other better than they knew themselves. They kept eye contact, smiling and laughing and making little comments or suggesting moves, and soon a small crowd surrounded them, a few people joining in on the dance floor.

When the song ended, they were already sweating, beaming at each other. It was like they were the only two people in the party, just completely wrapped up in each other, when the next song started and they switched to “I’ve Had the Time of My Life”. They both laughed and started their Mambo, which they weren’t quite as good at, giggling and stumbling a little bit at the fast pace mixed with the slow lyrics.

Lance couldn’t remember the last time he felt this alive. Watching Angela, her hair swirling around her enthusiastic and excited face, bright blue eyes vibrant and playful, and feeling the way their bodies moved together and the way other people stared at them, was unreal. It was one of those moments that you wish later that you could slow down, stay in forever, like the sunset on the cliff. 

Before long the sun set and the music took a break to something slow and sensual, making Lance twirl Angela gracefully and pull her back to him, their hips moving in synch and their hands wandering without crossing any lines in public but still extremely hot.

They finally took a break after that, Jesse and Lina clapping at them and Scarlett pulling Angela to go get a drink.

Jesse raised their glass. “Who knew Angela was dating such a dancer? Why hasn’t she brought you out more often?”

The question puzzled Lance for a second. When was the last time Angela and him really got out and danced? It had to have been forever ago. It had to have been beyond his recent memory. “We’re both pretty busy, and I work weird hours. That’s why this party is so nice.”

“Agreed,” Lina smiled. “My boyfriend is coming after he finishes up his hospital shift across town. Working odd hours is so weird for people out age.”

“You’re telling me,” Lance agreed with a chuckle.

“I do have to ask while the others are away,” Jesse leaned in, and Lance noticed a tiny nose piercing, “How are you letting her go? It has to be so hard for you.”

Running it over in his head again, Lance said, “I’m not letting her do anything. She gets to decide what she wants to do.”

That seemed to surprise Jesse, and Lina moved in an odd way that sounded like her foot connected with a shin. 

“Right, yeah, we were just worried,” Lina said, and Lance heard another distinct sound of a foot connecting with a shin, but this time Lina winced.

“Why should I be worried?” Lance asked, feeling clouds come in to darken the mood he was in. 

Scarlett and Angela came back with their drinks at that moment, and Angela handed a “sex on the beach” to Lance, topped with a mini umbrella and tiny shark toy. She had a gin and tonic for herself.

“To no reshoots!” Lina cheered, and the rest of them laughed, but Angela stiffened next to him

“What do you mean?” Lance asked warily, and felt a vice-like grip on his hand from Angela. He wasn’t looking at her though, he was looking at Lina.

“Well, you know the budget is only approved for three months right now, but there’s a chance that if we need to do reshoots or have any weather delays that we could be out there for a lot longer.”

No, no no no… Lance swallowed but his throat was dry. He was just barely getting used to the idea of three months. She could be gone longer? It was like the floor had fallen out underneath him, but instead of responding he started drinking and let the conversation go on around him.

At some point the host got up on stage and made some announcements. Lance was pulled onto the dance floor by Jesse, who was a little off beat but enthusiastic enough to keep Lance’s spirits up while the drink slowly seeped into his bloodstream and calmed him down.

When they returned to the table, Scarlett and Angela were talking lowly with Lina, and the three of them froze and shut up upon seeing Lance, which made him swallow.

“Were you talking about my increible ass?” he joked. Scarlett smiled but the other two resembled cats with canaries in their level of guilt.

A few hours went by. Lance got progressively drunker and drunker, and Angela kept up a quiet conversation with the other two girls whenever he turned his back. Eventually his resolve snapped, and he took her by the hand. 

“Can I have you for a minute, Ang?”

She gulped. “Yeah.”

They went downstairs passed the bouncers to the regular bar area, and he pulled her towards a corner that no one was occupying by the dart board.

“Why do I feel like I’m being lied to?” Lance gritted out, anxiety making his hands fidget and clutch with nerves and anger. The music was louder down here, but they were close enough that there was no way Angela didn’t hear him.

“There’s just… I was worried that if I told you about the reshoots that you’d be upset…”

“Upset, huh? That’s true, I would have been, and I am. However, I could have been upset in our apartment as opposed to looking like a complete asshole to all your friends. Is that why you guys keep talking about me? Do Scarlett and Lina feel like I’m being overdramatic?”   
  


Hurt crossed her features, lip trembling. “No, of course not.”

“Then what’s the big secret, Angela?! I feel like I’m the only one who isn’t in the loop and it fucking sucks.”

Lance wasn’t a yeller, or an angry person. Angela and him rarely fought, and when they did they did it in the quiet of their own home and they were respectful and calm.

This wasn’t like any of those times. This was a Lance that Angela had never seen before, and this was an Angela that Lance had never seen before.

For a second, Lance wondered when they had become such strangers. They’d both become people that the other didn’t recognize, and in that moment it scared him more than anything else in the world.

“You’re drunk,” Angela asserted, “and acting like a toddler. You completely embarrassed me in front of my friends.”

Her words were sharp and caustic, eyes narrowed. 

“Oh, your friends? You’ve known Jesse and Lina for like two months. I’m sorry that your cool new friends have such a low opinion of me. I’m sorry that I didn’t impress them.”

The words were sliding out of Lance’s mouth hot and unstoppable, and he could see the moment that things snapped between them, where Angela’s expression went from angry to furious and she backed away.

“I’m taking the car, I’ve only had two drinks. You can figure out getting home on your own.”

With that Angela disappeared in the crowd, and Lance was left alone with an encroaching feeling of shame.

What had he done?

  
  


***

  
  


When Keith opened his front door he saw Angela. She was standing there shuffling her feet in a stunning floral number with a sweetheart neckline and hair in perfect ringlets around her face.

“Hey,” Keith said, gesturing inside. They walked upstairs to where Keith had a bottle of red wine waiting, and he uncorked it as he glanced over her. She looked like hell, her face fallen into a grimace and her eyes checking her phone nervously every few seconds.

He poured them both a glass of wine and slid one over to her. “I think you need this more than me.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Keith and Angela spend some alone time. Lance is frantic.
> 
> For some examples of the dances that Langela was doing, please refer to these awesome youtube videos! They obviously weren't quite so choreographed, but just so you can get the gist-
> 
> [Closer- West Coast Swing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f2gEY3dF3I)
> 
> [I've Had the Time of My Life- Mambo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uhgS5yDbAU)
> 
> A "sex on the beach" is a close friend of mine's favorite drink, and it seemed like something Lance would drink.
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [ over here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Angela spend the evening together while Lance struggles to come to terms with a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my loves<3
> 
> So a quick note about this fic in general: the whole thing is already outlined. I may make small changes here or there, but I have a firm grasp on where the story is going. In regards to that I have a few notes:
> 
> 1) The people in this fic as I portray them here are imperfect. I don't like writing unrealistic characters, so there will be points in the fic where you aren't going to like everyone. In fact, I can guarantee it. So you don't need to justify if you're having feelings about someone (namely Angela). If everyone was flawless then there wouldn't be any conflict or plot, so let yourself feel your feels.
> 
> 2) Certain aspects of the plot will come back around. A few people have asked, so I'd like you to know that you have the following to look forward to: We will learn more about Keith's relationship with Mason as well as other aspects of his past. Lance's family will be introduced. The friendships of a lot of these characters will be further explored. Angela and Lance won't have any easy fix for their problems. Also, buckle in for a two-part Halloween party!
> 
> Thanks to everyone for commenting and leaving me kudos<3 I love feedback like Pidge loves hacking, so don't be afraid to let me know how you like it so far<3
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Keith and Angela were sitting at his counter, nursing glasses of wine.

“Have you ever had someone who would follow you anywhere?” Angela asked softly, gaze drifting off into the corner of the room as Keith swallowed and instructed his Alexa to play music.

“Yes,” Keith breathed in admission.

A faint smile appeared on her lips. “It’s the stuff of dreams, you know? To have someone that will drop everything for you. It’s what you hope for as a child. Little girls just like me would stand in their princess dress as they’re looking up at shooting stars and wish for that kind of love.”

The two of them were silent for a moment before Keith whispered lowly, “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Angela snorted, sniffling a bit as she took the last sip of her glass of wine. Keith poured her another one.

“You don’t have to listen to my woes, especially about my boyfriend. I’m sorry if I assumed…”

Keith shook his head, touching her knee reassuringly. He wanted her to feel safe and comfortable. If nothing else, Angela was a good person. “It’s okay. You can talk to me.”

Her eyes were wide as emotion was laid bare, plain as day. 

Keith swallowed down the lump in his throat, because Angela looked  _ scared _ .

“Lance has followed me across oceans and put his life on hold for me for years. He always says that he needs to wait for our lives to settle before he can follow his own dreams. I always thought it was a blessing. I always thought it was a dream. Now, though… I wonder if I’ve been selfish.”

“I understand that,” Keith hummed, tracing his fingers around the rim of his wine glass, “I also know that it’s not your fault that Lance chose to follow you. I… my ex was like Lance in that way. He always put me first. It was killing him, though. It wasn’t my fault that he was doing it, but it was my responsibility to let him know that he didn’t have to anymore.”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Angela’s hands were shaking at the prospect. “Is it okay to be terrified?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it okay to hate myself a little bit?”

“Yeah.”

Her blue eyes met Keith’s, lower lip in a pout. “Do you think that I’m hurting Lance?”

“I’ve only known you guys for a little while,” Keith said with a chuckle, “You’d know better than me .”

That seemed to cement something in Angela’s expression, which turned grim briefly before sinking into acceptance. After that emotional transition, she looked at Keith gratefully. “You’re a good friend, Keith. I know our arrangement is weird, but I like having you around.”

The word “friend” made Keith feel warm inside. A friend, like he was telling Shiro earlier. Someone he could talk to when he was sad. Someone to watch stupid horror movies with and get bottomless mimosas at brunch and laugh over drinks at a bar. 

That happiness was furthered by the warmth from the alcohol, and pretty soon Keith was leaning towards her, his lips close. He needed to be closer, to have the physical contact. Angela and him had a simple relationship, and he was starting to itch to get to the next part of it.

“Keith, have I ever told you that you’re beautiful?”

The words stunned Keith for a second before they started to make his head swim, all other innuendos and pickup lines abandoned in favor of a much simpler command. 

“Kiss me.”

They didn’t intend to stumble around Keith’s house at 2 AM. They didn’t intend to knock over a $3,000 vase that Keith secretly hated from his ex. They didn’t intend to giggle desperately as they threw their clothes every which way, and they definitely didn’t intend to bump foreheads as they tried to pick them up a moment later.

However, intentionally or not, Keith had Angela in the bedroom. The sight in front of him was almost too good to be true, all things considered. Her breasts were heaving in tight black lace that she must have worn under her dress. Keith needed to get his mouth on her caramel skin, his tongue pressing and lips sucking at her neck and chest. Her hair fell in a tumble and she moved it out of the way, her delicate fingers threading into Keith’s own dark hair.

What a beautiful pair they must have made, Keith wondered. A tall, thin male model caging in this tiny, fiery goddess. 

When Keith first saw Lance and Angela, he knew that h needed to have them. It was like a siren call, and Keith had found himself pulled without question to touch them, to meet them, to know them. They had said that they could all be friends, but Keith didn’t trust that to last. He didn’t trust anything to last. He didn’t trust good things or bad things or anything, really. 

This was just another incredible perk to being their plaything. He got to get each of them to himself when he wanted them. 

Even if it wasn’t what he really wanted. 

Angela’s blue eyes were looking up into Keith’s violet ones, lips parted as she licked them greedily. Her face was sharp and expressive, similar in coloring to Lance’s but different in a few key ways. Keith had mapped them both out, ran his hands and his teeth and his tongue over them. Angela’s eyes were a lighter blue. Lance had a pointier nose. Angela’s cheekbones were softer, less angular, and gave her face a rounder, more inviting smile.

Lance’s smiles were like sharp little challenges, each one catching the attention of anyone around.

Lance had freckles spattered across his nose. Angela had a longer neck. Then, there were the obvious differences. She was much shorter, and fuller, and she walked purposefully like a ballerina while Lance walked lightly as if he wanted to be able to bolt at any moment.

If he thought about it, in fact, Keith would say that Lance is all sharp edges that protect himself. Angela is honey slipping down his frame. Together they make quite a pretty picture, he thought bitterly.

Keith’s mouth found hers, finally. She tasted like Merlot as he caught her around her thighs and pressed her up against the wall with her legs wrapped securely around his back.

“Fuck, Keith, I need you…” her voice was husky, an edge of desperation in an otherwise smooth request. Keith was right with her, though. The thrill he got pushing her lithe body against the wall and being able to gather her completely into his hands was seeping into his bloodstream and making everything hazier with lust.

“Right against this door?” Keith teased as he bit hard on her lip. A tiny droplet of blood pooled that was kissed away immediately.

“Definitely,” she groaned, fingers fumbling to pull her panties off and start working on Keith’s belt. “I need you to pound me against this door. We’ve talked about too many feelings. I need to forget about the feelings, about everything. I don’t want to remember my own name.”

The words made Keith choke on air, his hands fumbling to help her now. This was the kind of stuff that his teenage self would have been over the moon for, and there was no way that he would let himself down now. 

Angela was giving him permission to do what he wanted, and he wanted to bury himself so far into her that he forgot his own name, too, forgot about Lance, forgot about everything about this situation that was incredible and horrible and made him just want to lose control for a little while.

They both just wanted to lose themselves in each other. They were just two humans seeking comfort in an odd friendship and gentle hands

After a few moments Keith’s pants were kicked off, his button-down open and hanging off of him like a silhouette. Once they were completely exposed, Angela allowed herself to be put down on the ground as Keith went to go get a condom. She stumbled a bit before catching herself on the door.

When Keith came back, their previously ravenous flame had dwindled to something crackling and warm, something that made Keith take his time as he grabbed her hips, and made Keith pause before he kissed her much gentler than before. It made her lean into his touch and nose her way along his neck as he slid the condom on.

When the condom was on, Angela dropped to her knees, much to Keith’s surprise.

“Just for a second, I want to get my mouth on you,” Angela’s voice was shaking as her tongue swirled around his head and her hand grasped the hard length before sinking her mouth over it, enveloping Keith in a hot glimmering sensation of being taken apart.

It was just a second, however, before Keith was impatient and pulled Angela up roughly, shoving her against the door and pulling her thighs back up so that her legs were locked around his waist again.

Now they were so close, and Angela’s arms were around Keith’s neck to keep her stabilized, and Keith pressed her against the wall and angled himself so that he could hold her up with one hand and use the other to guide himself slowly into her.

The first slip was easy, and when he felt himself bottom out in her Keith started shaking, the white hot feeling in his gut sending him into overdrive. 

“I meant what I said,” her breathless voice whispered into his ear as she sucked on his lobe, and the thought alone had Keith’s knees quaking.

He was told to pound her into the door, so he reared back and slammed forward.

Having sex against a wall or a hard surface was different than a bed. A bed was soft and had give to it. Having sex against a door was unforgiving. Keith knew that his knees and his elbows were bruising. He knew that there would be a pretty array of bruises on Angela’s ass and shoulders by the end of this. Each thrust pressed back with the door’s resistance, so each time Keith fully sheathed himself he was overwhelmed with a euphoric and primal satisfaction that nothing was softening the blow. They were both so overtaken with want that they didn’t even care.

Angela’s body was heating up around him, her legs squirming and nails digging into his back, just the way he liked. Keith saw white when she dragged them down his shoulder blades, leaving a white-hot trail of pain in its wake. When she did that, Keith groaned into her mouth and hitched one of her legs higher against his hip, getting her at a new and better angle that had them both whimpering.

Pretty soon Angela was screaming out something that Keith couldn’t understand. It probably wasn’t even words. It was likely just vague mumbles and disconnected syllables

Keith could feel the mounting tension in his back, could feel his brain starting to get slow-cooked until his thrusts became frantic, until he was chasing that one thing out of reach as he felt Angela’s ankles press hard enough into his back to bruise…

Then he was coming, and he slumped against Angela on the door, both of them breathless and desperate to get skin-to-skin contact. It took a moment for Angela to maneuver Keith out of her, for them to transition to the bed. Once they were on there, the heat of the moment zapped away, their energy completely drained as the two of them slept out of each other’s reach.

It was like they were keeping something between them, something vital. They had animalistic sex, but this boundary was even more important to maintain. This was the two of them acknowledging that the sex was good but it’s all it was. A good time with a friend.

Keith would have been uncomfortable if they were suddenly cuddling, but that wasn’t what happened. Angela fell asleep so fast, too, and Keith just watched her breathe for a little while, trying to adjust himself in the best way to avoid all the parts on his body that were sore.

It didn’t take long before Keith was fast asleep, too.

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was in the car with Hunk, phone still ringing as it slipped from his hand and hit the floor of the Jeep. His hair was still sleep-mussed and Hunk was clearing his throat next to him, hazards of the car blaring in the early morning hours.

Hunk was dragged out of bed at six in the morning because Lance was wrecked. Angela and him had a fight at her big party, and he couldn’t get her on the phone. She never came home.

So the two of them had climbed into Hunk’s Jeep. Hunk was still in sweats and a tank top, and Lance in a wife beater and formal pants, clearly having not undressed from yesterday.

The two of them went a few other places first. They cruised through Rodeo drive, where Angela would often come to stare longingly at the designer clothes and bags. They headed to their favorite access point in Malibu, where the two of them came whenever they needed to scream their problems to the unforgiving ocean.

Lance was standing on that stretch of beach as the blood-red sunrise hit the water, a spill like paint. It was only then that he remembered what Angela had said before the party, before the fight.

_ “Are you still okay with Keith and I getting together Saturday?” _

She wouldn’t, couldn’t have… Lance felt his heart leap to his throat, felt like everything around him was tilting as he climbed eerily silently into the passenger seat.

Hunk’s eyes were wide as Lance read off an address with a voice that was as lifeless as the smooth, glassy seas in his eyes.

They didn’t talk much on the drive there. It was LA, so it took them a little bit to get to Keith’s house, but soon they had pulled up across the street and Lance had dropped his phone.

Angela’s little blue Prius was in the driveway, shining in all its glory.

He was white, and before he knew it he was up and out of the passenger seat, but Hunk was right behind him, blocking his path.

“Move, Hunk,” Lance’s voice was dark and full of conviction, and Hunk appeared as if he was staring at someone he did not recognize. 

“I’m not moving, Lance. Marching in there isn’t going to do anything. Let’s go grab breakfast.”

“I want to know that she’s safe,” Lance’s voice drained of energy at those words, his eyes shining with the desperation he’d been feeling all night long.

That was when a vibration in the car made them both jump.

Lance plucked it up and his eyes widened a bit, freezing up.

It was a text from Angela, saying that she would be back from Keith’s at around nine. That was an hour from then.

Hunk carefully guided Lance into the passenger seat, and a short time later they were seated at a Chicken and Waffles House. Lance looked drained and dazed, and Hunk had ordered them both a special and two cups of coffee. 

Lance was fiddling with the handle of the first one, the sugar packets sitting next to the cup unripped and untouched. His delicate fingers then started moving across the lip of the porcelain.

“We need to talk about it, Lance,” Hunk’s voice gently prodded, but Lance’s hands clenched tighter on the cup and his gaze sharpened at his best friend. “You can’t go home until you figure out what you’re going to do.”

They sat in silence before Lance sighed and his frame loosened in defeat. “We have a contract. She told me that she was going to Keith’s after the event. Technically she followed the contract. It was just that… with our fight and the way things ended I thought she’d go home. She didn’t.”

“I’m not going to pretend like I understand the situation you’re in, because I don’t, but even if you signed a contract that can only dictate the way you  _ act _ . You can’t sign away your feelings about this, and clearly you feel like she betrayed your trust.”

Unexpectedly, Lance winced. “I don’t think that’s it, Hunk. I don’t think she betrayed my trust. She did everything right. I just didn’t…” Lance’s forehead hit the table. “Anyway, I just assumed that it was all talk. This is my problem, not hers.”

Hunk heaved a sigh, a swirling suspicion starting to come together. He kept it to himself, though, and soon their food was brought out. They ate quietly before Hunk asked what Lance planned to do.

“I’m going to talk to Keith,” Lance said with a dark tone, and Hunk started choking on his chicken. 

“Why would you talk to Keith?! You need to work this out with Angela! You know, the girl you love and live with!?”

Shaking his head, Lance started picking apart his waffle. “No, I’m angry. I don’t want to take my anger out on Angela. Keith can take it.”

“Who are you really mad at, Lance? Just because Keith can take it doesn’t mean he deserves to get hurt,” Hunk accused, his voice tinged with warning. The smell of syrup and coffee was starting to become overwhelming.

“No one does, but here I am.”

Before Hunk could do anything Lance threw down a twenty and left the restaurant, leaving Hunk with his food and the sad recognition that someone he cared about was hurting, and it was only going to get worse.

  
  


***

  
  


Keith took a long shower after Angela ducked out in the morning. The steam fogged the glass in his stall, and his forehead hit the glass softy, hands curling into fists at his sides.

His dark hair fell in lank tresses against his cheeks and neck, and the water hit his back as he hissed in protest.

His body was just one big ache. His hips and back were painted with broad stroke bruises. It had felt so good last night, but when Angela left with a flirtatious smile and flimsy excuse in the morning it felt like something had been clawed out of him.

It was different than when Lance left. When Lance left Keith felt more alone than he ever had before. When Angela left Keith felt like he’d been given a gift, someone to talk to and spend time with, only to have it snatched away.

It was like Lance had filled him up and then poked a hole, letting it all leak out.

It was like Angela had dangled herself in front of him and then darted away.

No amount of similes could calm the distinct feeling of emptiness he was trying to quell.

Eventually the warm water dulled the throbbing ache. Eventually he washed himself and turned off the water, sitting in the suspended animation of warmth and solitude that the shower stall provided.

Then he climbed out and grabbed a towel, only to hear his doorbell.

It took him a few moments to find pants and start to towel his hair off before the doorbell went off again, and he grumbled something about installing one of those doorbell cameras as he opened it and frowned.

No one was there.

He turned around and locked his door behind him, getting ready for a shoot that he had in the afternoon.

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was standing on the doorstep, ringing the doorbell and rapping against the stained glass when he caught his reflection.

The uber that he had called was pulling away, the engine rattling as it rumbled down the street.

Hunk’s words called back to him, a haunting reminder that made his hand freeze before ringing the doorbell another time. A reminder that made him focus on his own reflection

His face was pale and eyes were narrowed, pupils blown wide from rage and the sleepless night. The face looking back at him was almost unrecognizable.

Hunk’s voice came back to him.

_ “Who are you really mad at, Lance?” _

Hearing footsteps, Lance ducked behind the bushes just as the front door opened. Lance spied Keith’s bare feet and legs in loose sweatpants, before the man walked inside.

Angela’s text came a few seconds afterward, as Lance waited with bated breath until he was sure Keith was back inside and couldn’t see him.

_ Hey, I wanted to talk about the fight last night. I just got back from Keith’s. Where did you go? _

Of course she wanted to talk it out. Lance felt his anger seep out of him and into the ground below him as he texted her to pick him up.

  
  


***

  
  


They were both sitting on their living room couch, one foot apart and keeping their hands to themselves.

“I’m sorry that I reacted the way I did,” Angela’s voice was soft, face still blushing pink from the hot water of the shower. Her hair was wound into twin braids falling on each shoulder. “I should have had more patience with you. It’s big news and I wish that I had had the forethought to warn you before the party. I’m sorry.”

The words were cool water over a searing hurt, and Lance closed his eyes as the fight drained from him and left him feeling oddly cold. “Ireland is nice. They shot some of Game of Thrones there.”

Angela chuckled wetly, tears gathering into her eyes. “I guess I was worried that it wouldn’t be okay. We’ve survived way worse than a few months in different countries, but... I guess I had skipped over the part where you get to feel your feelings. I was too busy worrying about myself. That was… I wasn’t…” her voice cut off as she breathed heavily.

“I promised that I would follow you anywhere, and I want to, but… there are things I have to think about. I can’t just leave LA. It might not be that simple.”

Light blue eyes turned in surprise to Lance. “You thought I wanted you to come?” At her phrasing she blushed a deep red, “Not that I didn’t… I didn’t mean it like that. I just know that you have a life here. If you want to come with me I’d be happy, but if you didn’t I would understand.”

The pressure between them released, a cork popped from a champagne bottle. They sighed into the recognition passing over their faces.

“Okay, that’s where the miscommunication was,” Lance was moving then, and Angela was wound up in his arms, and they were tangled up in a reassuring hug that made the two of them sink in relief into the couch. “There might be a project that Coran wants me to take the reigns of, and it could mean that I’m one of the first names on the paper that comes out for it. If I go with you the project might get handed off to one of the undergraduates.”

There was a sad smile that Angela had as she looked up at Lance, and she surged up and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “That’s incredible, love. You should go for it, this is what you’ve been working at this lab for. You finally have the seniority to head a project. That would look so good on grad school applications.”

Her full lips against his forehead made warmth bloom in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I love you, you know,” his voice was shaky, and hers was just as shaky as she replied, “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Lance and Angela make a hard decision. Later, Shiro and Adam throw a Halloween party!
> 
> What are your predictions for the fic moving forward??? I won't give anything away but I am curious :{D
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is blindsided. Later, Shiro and Adam host a Halloween party and everyone attends :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends!
> 
> Some of you are worried that this is tagged as a Klance fic and it hasn't had enough Klance in it yet. That is a completely fair argument, and I promise that if you stick with the story you'll get all the Klance you need and more. Right now the story is focused on Lance parsing his feelings for the two of them, and it isn't in Lance's nature to go behind his girlfriend's back. Patience yields focus!
> 
> WARNING: this chapter is going to be a roller coaster. Buckle up, because we're going to learn more about Keith, watch some seriously tense situations, and then tie it off with a party that will be continued in the next chapter. I might post that one today, depending. If you feel strongly about reading it ASAP comment and lmk. Otherwise I'll just do my normal 3-5 day posting schedule
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Keith’s expression remained neutral as Lance and Angela looked at him across the table. They were sipping hot chocolates in a Starbucks, the air full to the brim with tension.

Lance was the one who spoke, his voice full of something sympathetic and diminutive. “Angela and I think that it would be best to stop our arrangement for the time being. We have some shit to figure out, and we don’t want you to get caught up in it.”

Despite knowing that he was going to get bad news, Keith felt his gut clench.

Keith didn’t expect this to last, of course. He didn’t trust anything to last. This wasn’t a surprise, this was just something that was inevitably going to happen anyway. His face remained schooled and he took a sip of his drink, internalizing the blow. “I understand.”

“We really enjoyed the time we spent with you,” Angela said with an encouraging smile. As if that was all that they had together, summed up into just one little phrase. Like all the experiences could be distilled and dealt with with that, like she didn’t need to acknowledge any of the rest of it.

It was like Keith was already an afterthought for them.

His eyes were watching Lance, though, who was clutching his hot chocolate tighter. He wasn’t making eye contact, and it was making Keith want to blow up.

Suddenly a memory came back to Keith, of his own voice cracking as he told Shiro, “ _ He will always choose her, Shiro, and it’s killing me.” _

Was this what death felt like? This sudden and inexplicable emptiness? It sure seemed to be that way.

“This is good-bye, then? No friends, no nothing?”

Angela looked over at Lance for help, but Lance was staring intently into his cup. She said softly, “maybe after we work through things.”

That made Keith stand up immediately. He knew that he was being dramatic, and that he wasn’t helping his case, but he needed to be as far away from them as possible. “Awesome, great, let me know when that is,” he said shortly, pulling on his coat.

He exited the little coffee shop, leaving his bleeding heart vulnerable on the table behind him. 

  
  


***

  
  


Keith was on his couch staring at the wall when the doorbell rang.

After he got up and stretched, Keith approached his front door nervously. His heart jumped in his chest when he saw that it was Lance.

Immediately anger started seeping from his pores, and he tried to calm down enough to answer without immediately snapping at him.

“Hey dude, I can see your silhouette. Can we please just talk?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. No one’s home,” Keith muttered petulantly. Surprisingly, Lance laughed at that. It was a heavy, emotional laugh, but it was a laugh all the same.

When was the last time Keith had heard Lance laugh? 

Had he ever heard Lance laugh?

“Whatever,” Keith conceded, opening the door to a frazzled looking Lance.

Keith couldn’t help it when his breath caught. Lance was wearing the same outfit as earlier that day, which was a blue button-down and khakis. His hair was gelled back, and despite how put together he appeared, his expression told Keith that he was anything but.

He had bags under his eyes and was sporting an uncomfortable frown.

“What is it, Lance?”

“I asked if I could come in. Can I?”

Swallowing, Keith took a moment to assess whether or not this was a good idea. He ended up stepping aside anyway.

They walked to Keith’s kitchen, where he had been organizing his spice cabinet to cool his head.

The array of spices splayed out over the counter made Lance’s smile twitch. “Making something?”

“Alphabetizing.”

“Oh.”

They both stood there awkwardly, the silence starting to encroach on Keith’s calm as he waited for Lance to say his piece.

“I came to tell you… I needed to say something.”

“Very articulate,” Keith joked.

Lance shot him an annoyed glance before smoothing out his expression and saying, “I’ve never felt this way before, you know.”

The words were electric on Keith’s skin, and he found himself rooted to the spot.

“I’ve been with Angela for so long, and I wondered… I wondered if we just would never have a passionate relationship. I figured that it was just who we were as people. Then I met you.”

The two of them were mirroring each other with wide and terrified eyes.

“You made me feel things I never did. You’re frustrating, and bossy, and defensive, but even with all that I find myself wanting to spend more time with you.”

Keith cleared his throat. “Then why are you doing this?”

“I have to. I owe it to Angela. I just wanted you to know…”

Anger seized Keith in the middle, and his fists clenched. “You know what Lance? Fuck you.”

Lance took a step back, whispering, “What?”

“You can’t just come here and fuck with my head like this!” Keith seethed, knowing that he was getting out of control and deciding that he just didn’t care. “You can’t show up at my house to tell me that you have feelings for me and then go crawling back to your girlfriend. It’s cruel.”

Hurt flashed across Lance’s features as he realized what he’d done. “Keith, that wasn’t what I meant! I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Get out,” Keith hissed, pointing towards the door.

Lance hovered for a moment. It appeared that he was pondering staying or leaving. Stay, and fight with Keith more and maybe make things right? Or leave, and let things settle on their own.

“I want to be friends someday, but I understand if you don’t want that. I’ll just go.”

Rage was filling up Keith’s chest, pouring into his lungs and making him want to scream. Despite this, he held himself together long enough to repeat, “Get out.”

This time Lance did what he asked.

  
  


***

  
  


It was a game for Keith, now. He sat nursing his whiskey, watching people enter the nightclub, scoping out someone that he could try to hook up with. He didn’t have a type really. It had been weeks since Angela and Lance told him that they would let him know when they figured their shit out, and it had been weeks of radio silence.

There were a lot of things to be done in a few weeks, though.

Or, more appropriately, there were a lot of people to be done in a few weeks.

Each of them was different. Tall, skinny, curvy, wild hair, no hair, man, woman, something in between, Keith didn’t care one bit. It didn’t matter as long as they were attractive and consenting and wanted him. That was all the green light he needed.

He never had a true “hook-up” phase when he first got to LA, mostly being too poor and nervous to make friends. Also, living with Adam and Shiro made the situation near impossible, as they had ears like cats and hated being woken up at night.

Better late than never, right?

Tonight he spotted a pretty blonde with a few friends, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail and eyes sporting a dramatic cat eye.

Keith didn’t remember her name, but when they got back to her apartment she pushed him back onto the bed and rode him like a porn star.

  
  


***

  
  


When Keith got home the next morning, Shiro was standing in his entryway, furious. His usually calming and steady gaze was hard as stone, and he looked a mess, his hair ruffled and his face blotchy and that was when Keith realized that he must have been crying.

“What are you doing here?” Keith muttered, his hangover making his head throb. He didn’t have the energy for Shiro to lecture him.

“We had plans two nights ago. Adam waited here for you to show up and you didn’t, for  _ two days.  _ Do you know that the police already have a clock counting down from when we filed the missing person’s report on you?”

He knew he had been forgetting something. Keith had been at what’s-her-face’s last night, and what’s-his-face’s the night before. He forgot to drop home at all, preferring to get started at the bar early.

“I’m sorry that I forgot about dinner, Shiro,” Keith grunted, and tried to walk by him, which made him side-step in front of Keith while standing up straighter. It was then that Keith fully appreciate that Shiro was much taller and more muscular. Keith was suddenly a little afraid.

“You’ve been off the rails lately. Ever since Angela and Lance cut you off I don’t even recognize you. When was the last time you even had a modeling gig? You’re drinking yourself under the table and going home with whatever looks the best and floats your way.”

That was when Keith realized that Adam had been asleep on his sofa next to his kitchen, and sat up, looking stunned and relieved.

“Keith, you’re okay…”

“Adam, I love you but we had a plan.”

The other man nodded, standing up with as much presence that he could muster up with his hair still a mess of bedhead.

“A plan? What are you going to do, have an intervention?”

When neither of them answered, Keith’s expression dropped from tired to mortified. 

“You… what the hell?! This is my life, Shiro, and I…”

Shiro cut in, “Don’t say that you can do what you want. Don’t you dare. What else do you expect me to do? I’m worried about you. It’s not just you you’re hurting, you’re hurting everyone who cares about you.”

Scoffing, Keith took a step back and crossed his arms. “Wow, that makes me feel tons better. Great intervention, bro.” 

The term “bro” was used mockingly, and he could see Shiro visibly wince at that.

“You have three options. Either you stay here and we cut you off until you get your shit together, you go to rehab to get your drinking under control, or you come stay with us until you get your shit together.”

The term “cut you off” had Keith’s heart doubling into overdrive. Shiro and Adam were going to leave him, too? “No, Shiro, you can’t. You can’t just leave me alone with this.”

Adam interrupted for the first time. “We’re not. We’re telling you that you aren’t okay, and there are only a few options for you to deal with it. We aren’t angels, we’re humans. We can only handle so many cancelled plans and drunken calls in the middle of the night and losing you for days at a time. It’s tearing us apart.”

It was the first time that he looked at the way Shiro and Adam were standing, a united front, the way a couple should be. They were serious about this. They were two people that cared about him enough to call him out and speak their mind.

That was what did him in, when the tears started to stream down his face. “I can’t, Shiro, I feel pathetic. Do you know how low I feel right now?”

“No,” Shiro said softly, this time more gentle, “but if you come stay with us for a little while so we can help you, you can tell me all about it.”

Black rage was mixed with the sadness now, and he muttered darkly, “I’ll go pack.”

  
  


***

  
  


Twas the night before Halloween. Keith had been staying with Adam and Shiro for eight days, and they had been keeping him under strict supervision. Adam worked from home, so when Shiro wasn’t around to keep him company Adam had him in his sight while he was tapping away on his computer.

Keith felt like a child, and he wanted more than anything to throw a tantrum, but he knew the rules. Either he lets them help him or he would be really and truly alone.

While the three men sat around the dinner table, Shiro cleared his throat and looked over at Keith.

“So I have some news that you might not like.”

The broccoli froze halfway to Keith’s mouth, his face grim. “What is it?”

“Lance and Angela are coming to the Halloween party tomorrow.”

“Nope,” Keith stood up and left his mostly uneaten dinner on the table, “I’m getting the fuck out of this house, then.”

“Keith…” Shiro tried.

Adam was the one that stood up and blocked his path. “If we thought you could go out and stay away from the bars we would love to let you just head out for the night, but that isn’t an option. You don’t have to talk to them, but you do need to stay for the party and make nice.”

Keith felt like he was being strangled, and he pushed Adam lightly out of the way, heading to the guest room and slamming his door.

“I think that’s a yes?” Shiro said tentatively, and they just looked at each other with exhaustion in their eyes.

  
  


*** 

  
  


Halloween was soon upon them, and Shiro and Adam were busy putting the final preparations on their house. Allura and Lotor had offered to help, and the four of them were sipping their witch’s hat cocktails and ensuring that the drink station was fully stocked.

“Keith is upstairs?” Allura asked, her voice just low enough that it wouldn’t be heard by Keith over the music. The other three heard correctly, though, and Adam nodded.

Adam and Shiro were dressed up as Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings, complete with hairy toes, fun wigs, and Fellowship of the Ring capes. Lotor and Allura were doing a truly impressive Joker and Harley Quinn.

Allura bit her bright red lips and fiddled with her bat as she asked, “This was why he wasn’t dating, wasn’t it? He had decided that he wasn’t ready.”

“He wasn’t,” Shiro, who was dressed as Frodo, said with a sigh, “None of us saw Lance coming. I think him staying here has been good for now.”

Scoffing, Lotor cocked a head at Adam and Shiro. “No offense, because I really like you two, but don’t you think Keith is old enough to make his own decisions?”

At that, Adam’s face snapped to something almost feral, and Shiro found himself touching Adam’s arm to calm him before the man dressed as Samwise said quietly, “Keith is our family. We take care of our own. There are things you don’t know, Lotor, so can you just trust us when we say that we know what we’re doing?”

Grimly, Allura took Lotor’s hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay, I can explain later.”

Just then the doorbell rang, and Shiro and Adam perked up into party mode, clicking the different lights on before inviting in the guests.

  
  


***

  
  


Ina, Nadia, and Katie were all dressed up as zombies, complete with rotting flesh and ripped clothes. They were busy laughing with Adam and Shiro, who was showing off the collection of fun cocktails that the two had premixed in punch bowls. Lotor was discussing something academic with Coran (who was dressed as a green alien), both of them munching on the fun horror themed snacks. Allura was draped over her friend Romelle (who was dressed as a sexy mouse) dramatically, both of them gossiping with their heads close together. Hunk (dressed as a chef) had brought two of his fellow grad students, James and Kinkade (dressed as party police). Matt made an appearance with his new girlfriend (Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, respectively).

There were a few other staff from the University wandering around. It was a packed house, and Adam and Shiro kept looking nervously at the door for when…

...the doorbell rang, and Lance and Angela were let in by Hunk, who hugged them both happily. Shay (a fancy cupcake) was following them, and kissed Hunk happily at her arrival.

Lance and Angela were hard to place at first before Adam recognized that they were dressed as Gatsby and Daisy from The Great Gatsby. Angela’s dark hair was tucked into a short blonde wig, her bright blue eyes highlighted by glitter and dazzling blue jewelry. Her beaded dress was stunning, perfectly complimenting Lance’s tuxedo. 

When everyone was together, a few stragglers trickling in, Shiro announced that there would be a costume contest and that votes could be cast in the cauldron by the drinks. He also said that there would be a variety of party games starting at ten.

One thing that most people didn’t realize about academics was this: they never left college. Due to that, they partied just as hard as undergraduates. Pretty soon there were a few tables set up and beer pong was being played.

Adam and Shiro were conversing with Lance and Angela when they looked up and saw that Keith had finally come down the stairs. He had decided that he would go with a classic devil look, complete with ripped black jeans, no shirt, devil horns, a red suit jacket that was tastefully left open to reveal Keith’s toned chest. His look was completed with thick black eyeliner and a killer glare at Lance.

Of course Lance had followed their gaze, of course, and swallowed when he saw Keith, visually affected by the way the costume made Keith look. Of course as soon as Lance looked at him Keith made a beeline for the drink table, though, and Angela and Lance shared a meaningful gaze.

“Well this is going to be fun, isn’t it?” Adam held up his own cocktail to Shiro, who clinked his glass together with his husband’s warily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: The halloween party is full of angst, feels, fun, and competition. Shiro is confronted by a figure from Keith's past.
> 
> If you like this, check out some of my other stuff over [ over here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)!
> 
> I've got plenty of Klance for your reading pleasure ranging from fluff to hardcore angst. I know that some of you are frustrated that the Klance stuff is moving so slow, so if you need a Klance fix definitely check out my page! I also have a Shidge series that is complete and was hella fun to write.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Halloween party is in full swing. There will be emotions, and themed drinks, and party games. Later on Lance gets the distinct pleasure of meeting Keith's ex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY YO
> 
> So I haven't really gone over the structure for this fic, so let me remedy that now. There will be five parts to this fic, and an interlude chapter between them. The themes will be revealed after the section of plot is complete.
> 
> This chapter is the end of Part One: Hook, Line, and Sinker (Chapters 1-13). The next chapter will be the interlude. Interludes are relevant to the plot but are usually calmer and happier little nuggets of fluff. 
> 
> Also posting update: I'm way ahead on writing this fic, so for my own sanity I'm going to be doing a SUPER AWESOME POSTING WEEKEND BONANZA!!! That's right, folks, you heard it here first! I will be posting the interlude chapter on Friday, and the first two chapters of Part Two on Saturday and Sunday. (Seriously, though, it's getting difficult for me to keep the plot straight when I'm writing like fifteen chapters ahead of what I'm posting)
> 
> So anywho, enjoy the conclusion to Part One:D
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

An intense game of flip cup was being set up, Adam and Shiro refereeing and restocking the drinks. They were only allowed five per team, and soon Lotor, Hunk, Katie, Allura, and Lance were facing off against Shay, Ina, James, Romelle, and Keith.

Each team member had to “match up” with their competitor, who was directly opposite of them, to ensure that the teams were even. Keith and Lance were opposite each other, their red solo cups held up and touching, both of them making unbearable eye contact.

Shiro blew his whistle and the first two chugged their drinks and proceeded to try to flip their cups correctly, and the cheering and jeering started. Coran was busy explaining the history of flip cup to a strangely interested Kinkade, and Angela was standing away from the table, biting her lip nervously as she talked with a particularly animated Matt Holt. 

The two teams were neck and neck, and when it was Lance and Keith’s turn, the last of both of their teams, they both downed their drinks and flipped almost simultaneously. Lance’s flipped too far and bounced off the table, but Keith’s landed on the first go, making him grin victoriously and chant happily with his team.

“I’ve got this, guys!” Lance insists, “It was just beginner’s luck!”

The next round Romelle couldn’t get her cup to flip at all, and so Lance managed to win the round for them.

The third round was where it got interesting. They were neck and neck again, James fumbling a bit and Hunk taking his time, making Keith and Lance pick their cups up simultaneously, chugging their drinks and with perfect synchrony flipped their cups, which landed perfectly at the same time.

There was a general gasp from the group, Shiro and Adam looking at the cups nervously trying to make the call on the winner. Before either of them really managed to assess it, though, Keith and Lance were already arguing.

“I clearly won, did you not see that?” Keith jabbed.

“Of course not!” Lance responded, “I only saw  _ my  _ cup landing before yours even got off the table. What planet are you on?”

“Earth, thank you, and it seems that you don’t know how gravity works! Mine clearly hit the table first!”

“I know how gravity works, Keith! I’m a fucking  _ scientist  _ and I’m telling you that I won!”

Adam managed to get between the two fuming men, saying softly, “It’s a tie, guys. Rock paper scissors to decide the winner.”

When Adam stepped away, Lance felt his face heat up as him and Keith stepped towards each other. This was the first time in weeks that they’d really looked at each other, and Lance could see the distaste on Keith’s face, could feel the palpable anger radiating from the model. The two of them put up their fists and shot off three rounds, each time Keith destroying Lance with scissors and then rock.

Keith’s team cheered and were announced the winners before they rotated the table so that the teams got mixed up.

Lance stepped out of the group to let Matt in, and walked over to Angela, who kissed him delicately. She had been watching the interaction between the two men closely, and when Lance got to her they whispered quickly to each other before pouring themselves drinks.

Despite the fact that he was occupied with the game, Keith managed to twitch when they kissed.

Shiro remembered the words Keith had used, about Lance always choosing Angela, and wished that he could take away Keith’s pain right now.

When flip cup ended, there was a lull where a few people poured new cocktails or started to dance. Keith whispered something to Katie, who took a shot with him, Keith knocking it back without a wince. Shiro had talked to Keith about drinking during the party, and that it was fine as long as it didn’t get out of hand, but he quickly realized that that had been wishful thinking.

Angela and Lance had excused themselves into the open floor of the living room, dancing along to Halsey’s “Gasoline” with laughs and kisses and gentle touches. The two of them were always the center of attention on a dance floor, both extremely talented dancers in their own right. Allura and Lotor quickly joined them, and them Katie brought a laughing Matt out and started doing goofy dance moves with her brother. The party had settled into a happy chaos, and Adam and Shiro let themselves breathe for a minute while their guests enjoyed themselves.

“Looks like we threw another successful one, babe,” Adam said with a confident smile, sipping his bloody mary and pressing a kiss to Shiro’s temple. Shiro smiled, leaning into the kiss and letting them both settle onto the couch before they started to organize the next party game.

Hunk was telling some insane story about undergraduates that he once caught having sex in the back of his class to a wide audience, and the music had transitioned to something slower, everyone on the dance floor transitioning to couples swaying tightly. Angela and Lance’s foreheads were pressed together, framed by Angela’s jewelry and sparkling headpiece. 

Shiro looked nervously over at Keith, who was clutching a drink in his hand tightly, unable to tear his eyes away from the two of them pressed together so intimately. James and Kinkade managed to distract him with what looked like more alcohol.

The couple remembered setting up the materials for the sour vampire shots, and their faces twisted in amusement as Keith demonstrated on James, dabbing the raspberry syrup on James’ neck and then raising his lemon drop shot in the air, smiling at Kinkade who was laughing and pouring out more.

While Kinkade was busy inviting more people over for the fun, Keith knocked back the lemon drop shot and then dove for James’ neck. Adam almost choked on his drink when Keith nipped lightly at the skin by the syrup before licking it up slowly, making James’ usually cocky expression descend into something that was almost lewd.

Adam nudged Shiro and nodded over at the dance floor, where Lance was watching with a bright red face, hand shaking on Angela’s back as they danced together.

“This is better than a movie,” Adam admitted quietly, and though Shiro wanted to make it easier on Keith, he had to agree that the whole situation was definitely entertaining to watch.

They got distracted setting up the next game, and when they looked back James had Keith pressed against the wall, sucking face like teenagers in the corner of the homecoming dance. 

“That escalated quickly,” Shiro felt himself look over at Adam, and they both just shrugged and got everyone together for their game of King’s Cup.

At some point after King’s Cup Hunk sought Adam and Shiro out, his expression a little troubled. Angela and Lance were sitting off on their own, talking in low voices and looking grim. Keith and James had rejoined the party, but James had a possessive arm around Keith’s waist, occasionally pressing kisses into the model’s hair and making Keith giggle and swoon.

Allura and Lotor joined the quiet group assessing them.

“So what happened with the three of them, exactly?” Lotor asked quietly, sipping his drink.

Hunk sighed. “Angela and Lance needed to work on their own stuff.”

“They seem fine,” Adam said softly, “Except right now.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes at the group slowly forming around him. “They’re going to notice that we’re staring and talking about them, you know.”

“Angela is leaving in two weeks and it’s really messing with them,” Shay said, the rest of the group ignoring Shiro completely.

Allura looked surprised. “I didn’t know that!”

“She’s filming in Ireland,” Adam confirmed, and Shiro finally rolled his eyes and left the tiny audience.

The hobbit slowly made his way towards where James and Keith were busy talking with Pidge, Kinkade, and Matt. Kinkade was watching the two of them with a raised brow, and Pidge was smirking in between sips of her drink.

“Hey, guys. How’s it going over here?” Shiro said with a smile, making eye contact with Keith, who was staring daggers back.

“Keith was just telling us about how you guys never let him drink anymore,” Pidge was looking over at Shiro with a meaningful expression that conveyed something along the lines of  _ he’s super drunk what do we do?! _

“Party poopers,” Keith agreed, sticking his tongue out. That was when Shiro started to recognize the haze behind Keith’s eyes, and the way he swayed. James wasn’t just holding him from behind, he was holding him up. Reality started to crash in on Shiro in that moment, and he felt his stomach clench.

Matt quickly changed the topic, piping up, “So, Katie, you’re helping plan Angela’s going away party, right?”

Shiro’s heart stopped in that moment, looking over at Keith, whose hazy eyes had suddenly and inexplicably widened in shock.

“Going away?”

Nodding, Katie’s face lit up with excitement. “Angela’s movie is going to film in Ireland for three months, but lately they’ve been talking about closer to four or five. It’s going to be a huge deal for her. She’s leaving in two weeks, so we’ve got a surprise party planned.”

“I didn’t know,” Keith said softly, looking over at Lance and Angela with something softer, something that made Shiro want to wrap Keith up in a hug. 

“It’s going to be so cool, though!” Matt commented, grinning, “They’re thinking that this will be a blockbuster. Imagine being friends with someone who worked on the set? We can meet the cast, and that will put Angela’s name on the radar of lots of other production companies.”

Keith didn’t seem to be listening anymore, though. He only had eyes for the two in the corner. Angela’s face was scrunched up in frustration, and Lance’s tone was soothing but they couldn’t discern what they were saying from here.

Finally after a little bit of convincing his husband Shiro was able to get a game of  _ What Do You Meme? _ started, and at some point while Shiro wasn’t looking Keith had disappeared with James.

No way. Keith was way too drunk to give consent, and no way in hell was Shiro going to let that go down in his own house. Excusing himself from the game, where everyone was hysterically laughing about other player’s answers, Shiro walked purposefully up towards Keith’s room.

When he got there, the door was ajar, and Shiro paused for a moment and listened.

James’s voice was gravelly as he muttered, “Keith, I want this. You’re so fucking sexy right now…”

Shiro readied to bust into the room, but then heard James continue.

“...but you’re wasted. This would be so messed up,” James’ tone was dripping with finality, and Shiro felt the knot twisting up in his stomach release a bit.

“Doesn’t matter, James, I’m fine. I’ve wanted this for a while,” Keith’s words were slurring, and even Shiro could hear the desperation underneath his words.

“Then you can wait longer,” James said softly, “I’ll still be here tomorrow. Come back to me when you’ve sobered up.”

Shiro dove into the bathroom as James made his way out of Keith’s room and back down to the party, and once he was out of eyeshot Shiro was in Keith’s room, where his friend was curled up on his bed, staring off into space with a lost expression. His devil horns were askew, and his lips were pulled into a pout.

“Keith?”

“Go away, Shiro,” Keith groaned, rolling over to bury his face into the bed.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Rejected, that’s how. I’m sure you’re thrilled,” Keith muttered grumpily, “I’m sure that’s why you’re up here. Wouldn’t want me slutting it up again.”

Biting his lip, Shiro carefully walked over to Keith’s bed and sat down, pondering his words carefully.

“I don’t care if you sleep around, Keith. I just want you to be smart and healthy about it, and getting wasted and having sex with anything with legs is not healthy. James made the right call.”

“Fuck James.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you specifically did not fuck James,” Shiro’s face quirked into a tiny smile, and Keith looked up at him just to hiss in his general direction at the terrible joke.

There was a beat of silence before Keith muttered, “Is Angela really leaving?”

Shiro and Adam had talked about whether or not they would tell Keith about it, but they had decided that they’d let Keith find out on his own. With how messed up he’d been lately it had been difficult for them to burden Keith with even more confusing information.

“Yeah. That’s why they wanted to get some space. With Angela leaving the two of them needed time to work on their relationship.”

There was a quiet pause before Keith asked a quiet, “Do you think Lance will be okay?”

“It doesn’t matter, Keith. You shouldn’t care about what Lance feels right now. We’ve talked about this.”

“Blah blah blah, I’ve heard this before, Shiro,” Keith snapped, sitting up this time. His suit jacket was wrinkled and his horns officially tumbled to the bed.

“You aren’t ready to date again, not after...” Shiro continued coldly, igniting Keith’s pettiness.

“Why is this always about Mason, huh?! Don’t you think I just want to get past him? Don’t you think I want to move on?!”

Heart clenching, Shiro reaches out to touch Keith’s shoulder, but Keith flinched back, wrapping his arms around his legs. 

“Get the fuck out, Shiro. I’m done for the night.”

“Whatever,” Shiro muttered with defeat, moving from the room. When he walked out the door he saw Adam waiting on the other side, eyes full of love and sadness.

“He’ll come around,” Shiro said softly, to which Adam nodded and squeezed his husband’s hand softly.

As they descended the stairs, Shiro was shocked to see that Lance had cornered James at the juncture of the hall just ahead, standing to his full height and puffing out his chest, eyes dripping with venom.

“What the hell did you do to Keith?” Lance growled, and Shiro felt himself shiver at the tone. He’d never heard Lance sound so angry.

Rolling his eyes, James crossed his arms defensively. “He’s drunk, Lance. I wouldn’t take advantage of him like that.”

“Hell right you won’t,” Lance continued, unperturbed, “What was with all that kissing and handsy stuff, though? Wouldn’t you say that that’s taking advantage?”

“I didn’t realize how drunk he was at first, and then I was trying to keep him upright. Besides, who died and made you Keith’s guardian angel?”

At that Lance’s eyes widened a fraction. It must have just sunk in how possessive he sounded. “I just wanted to make sure he’s okay.”

“He’s in bed. Can I go back to the party now?”

After biting his lip, Lance nodded, and James pushed past him. Lance was just standing there, stunned. Had he not realized what he was doing? Was Keith affecting him that much?

The couple tried to continue down the stairs as discreetly as possible, but Lance caught the movement and took a step back in shock. “Uh… hey guys. Did you… um… catch any of that, by chance?”

“Catch any of what?” and “No way, man” were said by the two of them simultaneously and far too quickly. Lance groaned and put his head in his hands.

“Great.”

They went back downstairs and the rest of party continued with laughter and drinking. At some point they got a game of Never Have I Ever going, and everyone was giggling and chilled out towards the end of the night.

That was when a knock sounded at the door, and Shiro’s brow furrowed. Every guest that they had been expecting was already here.

Instead of just calling out “come in” Shiro started walking towards the door, and when he looked out the pane of glass his hands clenched at his sides. Shiro opened the door and slid out, closing it immediately and standing up to his full height.

The man standing there had an honest and amicable look of on his face. His chocolate brown hair was nestled in perfect curls on the top of his head, his frog green eyes bright in the porch light. He was just a bit taller than Shiro, but skinnier.

“It’s nice to see you, Shiro. Is Keith here?”

“Get the fuck off my property,” Shiro growled, barely containing his animosity.

“Yeah, I can’t do that. Keith texted me earlier that you had him on house arrest, and I’m here to tell you that you’re out of line.”

Even with the nature of the topic the man on the porch’s expression and tone were still warm and friendly. It only made Shiro descend into a more intense fury.

“He’s drunk, Mason, and he’s not going anywhere with you.”

The charismatic man just smiled cockily. “He never drank when he was with me. I always kept him safe. Clearly you and Adam aren’t up for the job.”

That was when Shiro started shaking. “Get off my property in the next ten seconds or I’m calling the police.”

They didn’t seem to phase him. “Well goodness Shiro, I’d hate to have to talk to the police. I have a very interesting video that they’d be just delighted to see. I’m sure the university won’t keep you in their staff if it gets brought into the public eye.”

He was seeing red now. Shiro was suddenly very annoyed with himself and the fact that he was dressed as a fucking hobbit and not a _ demon _ , because he wanted to rip Mason apart.

The door popped open, and it was Lance, to which Shiro muttered “go back inside Lance,” without turning his back on Mason.

“Adam wanted me to check on you. He was worried. Is everything okay out here?”

“Everything is just peachy,” Mason said with a grin, “I’m just here to pick Keith up.”

At Keith’s name Lance tensed, eyes narrowing. “Shiro?”

“Go back inside, Lance.”

“Not if you need backup, Shiro,” Lance insisted, stepping out into the doorstep and crossing his arms, eyeing Mason up and down.

“We are having a party,” Lance said coldly, “there are lots of guys in here that won’t let you get to him. You should leave.”

Mason raised an eyebrow at the look in Lance’s eyes, and then held his hands up. “Alright, that’s fine. I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll just come back another time.”

With that he turned around and left, Lance watching him go uneasily.

“Shiro, who is that?”

Shiro’s face was grim as he muttered, “That is Mason.”

  
  
  


***

  
  


When Keith got up the next morning, his blood ran cold. He went through his phone immediately and saw that he had, in fact, drunk texted Mason.

_ K: I miss you _

_ K: Shiro and Adam have me on house arrest. Come rescue me _

_ K: It’s our anniversary in a few days and I can’t stop thinking about you. _

Tears gathered in his eyes. He had been thinking about Mason lately, but he had never intended to text the bastard. In fact, knowing that he did drunk text his ex made him want to throw up.

Nope, Keith realized with a start, that was just the hangover talking. He sprinted to the bathroom to upchuck most of the contents of his stomach.

When he grumbled down the stairs there were a few people sprawled out on couches and over the floor. Most notably, Lance had set up a sleeping bag in front of the door on the tile, which had to be incredibly uncomfortable. Allura was passed out on the couch with Romelle, both of them tangled together like best friends often were. Katie, Ina, and Nadia were grouped together on an air mattress, looking like completely different types of zombies.

Keith quietly snuck out onto the back porch and dialed a number, his stomach dropping down to the floor.

It rung only twice before a voice purred on the other end.

“Hey, beautiful. Still want me to come pick you up?”

The air around him seemed to grow thin. “I’m sorry about the drunk texts. I didn’t mean to mess with your head.”

There was a gentle chuckle on the other end, his breathy voice smooth as honey. “I think you definitely meant to mess with my head. I think you miss me.”

The worst part was that he did miss him. He missed waking up with Mason’s arms wrapped around him. He missed holding hands and watching the sunset from their rooftop. He missed quiet evenings where they would whisper conspiratorially over candlelight dinners.

Keith did miss him, and his silence seemed to speak for him because Mason continued, “I’ll come get you.”

“No,” Keith said firmly, viscerally, and he winced. “Just forget that I sent the messages. That’s all I called to say.”

There was a hum, before, “I miss you, too,” and then the dial tone, where Keith clutched his phone and willed his heartbeat to slow down.

  
  


***

  
  


When Shiro woke up and went down into the kitchen, it was to see that Keith was already nursing a cup of coffee. He apparently went out and got bagels for everyone, because he had spreads and bags ready on the counter. Blinking in shock, Shiro said, “What’s all this?”

“Penance. I was a dick last night,” Keith muttered as he took a nibble of his bagel. 

Nodding, Shiro helped himself to a blueberry bagel and spread honey maple cream cheese on top. “Mason was here last night, Keith.”

Violet eyes were downcast, hands starting to shake. “I didn’t realize he actually came. I’m sorry about that. I drunk texted him. I was being stupid. I told him this morning that I didn’t mean any of it.”

“He told me that you said we had you on house arrest,” Shiro shuffled his feet, picking at his bagel with a troubled look on his face. His nose was scrunched up in a way that made his scar particularly visible. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel like I’m controlling you. I’m just really worried about you. If you want to go home, that’s up to you. You shouldn’t feel like you need a jailbreak.”

Tears were gathering in Keith’s eyes then. “I’ve been messed up Shiro, I know that. You and Adam were right to talk to me about it, and right to keep an eye on me. Last night I was just upset because I saw Lance and Angela, which is why I drank so much. I’m feeling better. I think it’s time for me to go home.”

Shiro’s lip quivered. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been waiting to hear Keith admit that he was ready for that. “Thanks, Keith. I’m really proud of you.”

There was a comfortable silence before Keith asked, “So what’s with Lance sleeping by the door? You guys have other air mattresses, don’t you? Come to think of it,” Keith’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Why didn’t Angela stay, too?”

At that, the older man rubbed his arm. He wasn’t sure how much he should say, but decided that he didn’t want to withhold the truth. “When Mason showed up, Lance checked to make sure I was okay out on the porch. He helped me convince him to leave. I think Lance was worried that Mason might come back. The goof insisted on staying the night and keeping watch at the door.”

A soft fondness bloomed in Keith’s chest, making him want to run over and kiss Lance, but he knew that wasn’t fair.

“I guess I’m mostly worried that Mason will come back to your house when you’re alone,” Shiro reminded Keith gently, “You changed all the locks and passcodes this month, right?”

“Of course I did,” Keith bit his lip before taking another bite of his bagel. “If he gives me any trouble I’ll call you. I always do.”

The others all slowly woke up and grumbled their way into the kitchen. Allura came in first, with Katie and Ina following close behind. Within thirty minutes coffee was being poured out and everyone started following their noses to the caffeine. Adam was downstairs soon, too. He wasn’t a morning person, but he couldn’t resist the smell of coffee when it wafted up the stairs.

Lance was the last one in, looking over at Keith with a soft concern as he prepared his own breakfast. Everyone was chatting idly, and Shiro watched as Lance stole a glance at Keith, before looking away. Then Lance stole a glance at Keith, and the two of them kept just missing each other.

Shiro wondered for a moment if he was right to encourage Keith not to talk to Lance. The man parked himself in front of the door to keep his ex from getting into the house. Keith could use someone that caring and genuine in his life.

As everyone left, Shiro caught Lance’s arm. It was just the two of them in the entryway, Keith having gone to pack his things.

“Thanks for helping out last night, Lance. I owe you one.”

Lance shrugged. “Of course, dude. Why was Mason here anyway? They broke up a while ago, didn’t they?”

“He’s just being his usual asshole self. I appreciate the help.”

Shiro was avoiding answering the question directly, and Lance’s eyes narrowed in suspicion before he accepted that he wasn’t going to get any more answers. “Alright, then. I had an awesome time last night, Shiro. Thanks for inviting us.”

“No problem, Lance. I’ll see you at Angela’s surprise party.”

When the door closed, Shiro turned back to his house. They’d done most of the clean-up last night, knowing that they wouldn’t want to do anything this morning. Adam came over and kissed his shoulder.

“I’ll go draw us a bath,” Adam said sweetly, leaving Shiro to relax for the first time in hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Lance, Angela, and Katie spearhead an exciting evening that will change the lives of some of their closest friends. 
> 
> If you like this, check out some of my other stuff [ over here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)! Seriously, though, I have so much material. It's getting ridiculous. Send help.


	14. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, Angela, and Katie have been working hard on a project that finally comes to fruition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone ask for some Hunay? No? Well fuck, man, I wrote it already. I'll just leave it here...... 
> 
> This chapter is an interlude as I explained in the previous chapter- the first chapter of PART TWO of this fic will also be posted tonight :D 
> 
> I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it, too.
> 
> If you wanna skip it altogether then it's not vital to the plot. I'll leave a skipping summary below!
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

It had been almost a week since the halloween party. Lance was running around Shiro and Adam’s house, weaving in between dozens of people. There was paint and streamers and balloons and glitter. It was like a craft store blew up in the living room. Luckily, Adam and Shiro were enthusiastically participating in the crafts, ignoring the mess in favor of enjoying the exciting atmosphere. 

When Lance got to Katie, who asked him to check over her work on some of the craft flowers, he grinned brilliantly. “Perfect, Pidge. You’re doing great!”

“Thanks, captain!” she saluted Lance with just as much happiness radiating off of her. She didn’t even call out Lance on her nickname, just went right back to her work with a single-minded focus that usually was saved for the lab.

Allura called Lance over. She was set up at the kitchen table with lots of lists and papers, her silver hair artfully done up with golden hair sticks. “I talked to one of the staff and they said that they didn’t get a shipment of the right bottle of wine today. It was supposed to come with their order but the distributor ran out. I’m going to see if I can find it in a liquor store nearby!”

She waved with her car keys in hand as Lance gave her some directions to the ones closest, as well as asking her to pick up another two or three things while she was out.

Just after that Angela called, and Lance answered in a sing-song voice. “My love, my life, how are things going on your end?”

Angela’s voice was a little low, clearly trying to avoid alerting anyone nearby to the fact that she was on the phone. “Everything is perfect so far. I’ll call you when we’re en route to the venue. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

When they hung up, Lance raised his hands and called out to everyone, who looked up with curiosity. 

“Angela says things are going well on her end. We have three more hours before we need to depart for the venue, and then we have two hours to set everything up. Thank you everyone for working so hard! I promise that the end result will be worth it!!!”

There was an enthusiastic cheer from the gathered group.

  
  


***

  
  


Angela hung up with Lance and walked over towards Shay. The young woman was window shopping in a high-end boutique as per Angela’s recommendation. Shay’s hair was braided in a gorgeous high ponytail, showing off the high cheekbones that sat regally on her proud face. The two of them decided on a girl’s day, and they were giggling and picking out different expensive dresses to try on for the hell of it. 

Jokingly, Shay walked over to the bridal section, and held up a white dress to Angela’s front, who flushed in embarrassment.

“Hmmm, methinks that Angela looks stunning in white. Perhaps it’s about time for Lance to put a ring on that finger,” Shay winked and put the dress on Angela’s growing pile. The store manager was watching them carefully as they wandered the aisles, picking out both gorgeous and hideous dresses in order to get the fun of it out of their system.

Finally they wandered into the dressing room area. Angela went first, Shay sitting on a small couch just outside of the curtained room.

“So when do you think Lance is going to pop the question?” Shay teased lightly as Angela tried on a purple number that fell silkily around her thin figure, the back open and full of ribbons and straps that were studded with sequins.

While she tried to tuck her boobs into the tight bodice, she responded, “I don’t really know, Shay. We haven’t talked about it in a while. I’m leaving soon, anyway, so whatever plans we might have had are going to be put on hold.”

“True, but you guys are the couple mascots of our group. We can’t wait to see you two get hitched!”

Sighing, Angela finally stepped out and viewed herself in the mirrors, Shay gasping and squealing at the look. “You look like a fancy french aristocrat going to the opera.”

“Really?” Angela spun around, her curly hair framing her defined collarbones and falling prettily down her tanned back. “I like it, too!”

While busy wiggling into a poofy blue dress, Angela finally said, “What about Adam and Shiro?”

“What about them?” 

Angela felt her stomach clench as she tried to get the tulle to settle around her hips neatly. “Adam and Shiro should really be the couple mascots of the group.”

At that Shay hummed in recognition from behind the curtain. “You know, I almost forgot about them. Okay, you guys are our runner-up couple mascots.”

“How could you forget? Their relationship is literally a fairy tale,” Angela said wistfully, “Their wedding was one of the most beautiful days of my life, and it wasn’t even mine!”

When she stepped out in the blue dress, the store associate snorted in the corner, making Shay eye her warily. “You look like the queen of the cupcakes.”

“Is that a… good thing?” Angela hesitated, turning around in the dress.

“Try on something else.”

Nodding, Angela ducked back into the dressing room.

“Shiro and Adam’s wedding was a fucking dream,” Shay recalled, “I really wasn’t sure how I felt about having their wedding in the desert. I thought it would be a lot rougher of an experience, but it was a beautiful ceremony.”

“They had everyone dressed in purples and blues so that their white would stand out. The floral arrangements alone were stunning. The stars overhead at the reception were increible enough, but then there was the meteor shower that happened at the end...”

The two girls sighed together, reminiscing in the day that two of their friends had pledged their lives to each other. It had been such a wonderful occasion full of love, beauty, and warmth. Everyone there had a blast. Angela wonders, looking back, why Keith wasn’t in the wedding party. It seemed a bit odd to her, and sat strangely with her as she walked out in a pale yellow floral dress.

“I expected that to look hideous but you pull it off,” Shay admitted with a surprised grin, looking her friend up and down. “Okay, the last one is the…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Angela allowed herself to be shooed into the room, nerves setting in as she quietly donned the last dress.

When she walked out, Shay’s eyes widened in shock, and she whispered, “Ang, you… oh my god,” tears started to gather in her eyes, “You’re… I can’t even…”

Angela gulped and stepped up onto the stage set before the full length mirrors. The dress was designed with a lacy high-neck bodice, a triangle cut into the center and studded with jewels on the edges of the hole, Angela’s dark skin a beautiful contrast to the creamy white. The skirt fell in bubbled layers, all sparkling with jewels and beads as it hung off of Angela’s frame like a cloud. 

She was stunning. The dress was perfect. It was everything that Angela imagined her wedding dress to look like. She’d been dreaming of her wedding for years now, can remember the color scheme she’d picked out for the arrangements and the bridesmaids and the carefully crafted decorations. There was a binder somewhere that she’d started in high school. At first it was just a far away dream, but as Angela had gotten older the binder had become more and more real.

“You have to write down the designer, Angela. I… I’m crying now,” Shay’s voice was trembling, and Angela looked back at her with a reserved smile. “I’ll go ask the attendant.”

Shay ducked away, and Angela studied herself in the mirror, hands starting to shake. For twelve years she’d been imagining her wedding to Lance, each and every detail planned down to the last peony. 

It was with a sharp tug to her heart that she realized that, for the first time in years, she couldn’t see herself standing down the aisle from Lance’s tear-filled face. She couldn’t imagine her father walking her towards the wedding party, assembled and smiling and waiting in their baby pinks and rose-gold accents. The colors weren’t coming together as coherently as they had been, and soon the image of Lance’s tear-filled face was gone, replaced with a smiling wedding party and no one waiting for her at the end.

When she changed out of the dress as quickly as possible, Shay had come back and yelled through the curtain, “I got the information on the designer! That way you can special order it when the day comes.”

The air in the dressing room was pressing hard on Angela’s chest as tears threatened to sparkle in her eyes, and she showed the dress far away from her as she climbed back into her street clothes.

As Shay went through her personal fashion show, Angela smiled and laughed and commented where she needed to, but something had settled deep in her gut, and she knew that there was no going back.

When her friend walked out in a classy red number with sequins sewed in, the plunging neckline and slit up the one leg accentuating her stunning curves, Angela cooed over it, telling her how she looked like a model. Shay agreed and spun around in it more than once, her face split with a smile.

When she went back into the dressing room, Angela gave a thumbs up to the store manager, who smiled and made a note on something on her computer.

  
  


***

  
  


Katie watched Shay and Angela wander into the check-in area of the restaurant sitting just on the beach at sunset, and when they were safely tucked into the back of the venue she ushered everyone into the party room, keeping an eye out that the two of them had their backs turned as they ran in with boxes of materials.

Then she took the video camera collection that they had rented for the occasion and went out onto the patio, which was set up for only one couple and was covered in flowers and candles. Shay worked in the geology department, and there were different crystals that meant different things in different cultures scattered around. Katie wasn’t sure what they meant, but Lance and Hunk had done careful research in selecting them.

She propped one camera into one of the ferns, focused on the table with the ocean in the background. Next she went into the party room and propped one up looking into the room, and the three were settled into go-pros that would be on the uniforms of a few of the employees. The last one was focused on an area in the venue, where Lance was directing everyone with purpose to set up their decorations.

Katie and Lance were in charge of organization and documentation of the event, and soon Katie was tucked into the back office with the restaurant manager, settled into her multi-screen set-up and making sure each of the camera feeds were coming in clearly. She put her headset on and waited for the camera labeled  _ waiter_1 _ to lead the two subjects towards a small prep room in the back. Shay looked confused, asking Angela what was going on, when she caught sight of what was waiting in the prep room. It was a beautiful sparkling red dress, and Shay covered her mouth, tears sparkling in her eyes.

Angela smiled. “Come on, let’s get you dressed. I’m doing your make-up.”

Katie clicked the headset microphone on. “Lance, she’s in the prep room. You can bring the balloons in without her noticing.”

“Roger,” Lance responded, and Katie watched him shuffle out of the party room back out to the cars. Katie settled back in her seat, watching  _ waiter_4 _ checking on the preparation of the appetizers, speaking about the progress out loud so that she could hear the updates.

After a little while  _ waiter_1 _ saw the door to the prep room open and Angela walked out with Shay on her arm, wearing the dress with her hair and face done up gorgeously. Katie said quickly, “Okay, cue the big man!”

Hunk was quickly pushed out onto the patio, adjusting his bow tie and giving a thumbs up to where he knew the camera was. Katie chuckled, texting him.

_ K: Break a leg _

Hunk looked down at his phone and snorted, and soon Angela brought Shay onto the patio, whose face was completely overwhelmed. The flowers, and the candles, and the way that Hunk was standing, holding his hand out for her, made her hands shake as they reached for him.

“Baby, what’s going on?”

“I can’t treat the love of my life to a romantic evening?” Hunk responded smoothly, pulling out her chair for her. Katie texted the kitchen staff and  _ waiter_2  _ came out with the wine bottle that Allura searched around for three hours to get.

When it came over, Shay’s eyes widened. “Is that…”

“The $300 bottle of wine that I accidentally ordered on our first date? It is, in fact. The same year and everything,” Hunk was watching her with awe. He hadn’t seen her in the dress ahead of time, and he was busy drinking her in like she was a work of art come to life.

After  _ waiter_2  _ finished pouring the wine, the two of them held up their glasses, the sunset over the ocean framing their faces in a vibrant yellow glow.

“To us,” Hunk said with a smile, and Shay swallowed, her eyes shining with tears.

The appetizers made it out on time. Katie communicated with Lance to make sure that the preparations in the other room were going well. Angela had ducked into the prep room and was now busy arranging balloons just the right way as per Lance’s instructions.

Dinner ended and it was clear that Shay had been lulled into a false sense of security, the romantic atmosphere soothing into something simple and sweet that Hunk had put together. Instead of asking for a dessert menu, Hunk stood up and put his napkin down.

“I have to go talk to the hostess about something,” he said quickly, and she opened her mouth but Hunk had already ducked out of the frame.

Katie spoke into the headset. “Angela, is your camera ready?”

Another screen popped up on Katie’s computer, aimed at the door and wobbling a little bit. It was attached to Angela’s jacket. “I’m all good, Katie.”

That was when  _ waiter_3  _ walked out onto the patio and held out her hand for Shay. “Pardon me, miss, but there was a problem with your bill and we were asked to bring you to your boyfriend. Could you follow me?”

Grinning like an idiot, Katie said with excitement, “Places, everyone!!!”

Shay was stunned but was led by the waiter, and soon all four waiter cameras were either guiding Shay towards the double doors or following her to capture her reaction.

When the double doors opened, Katie whispered, “Showtime, guys. Watchtower heading to position.”

She quickly left one of her roommates in charge of the cameras, and sprinted out to where her friends were waiting.

  
  


***

  
  


When Shay walked through the double doors, tears quickly filled her eyes.

There were bouquets of balloons everywhere, and next to each bouquet was a friend in a white outfit. The first was Angela, was was beaming in a white sundress with a gilded rose in her hand. Shay walked towards her like a woman possessed as Angela handed over the first rose.

On a tiny little note attached to the rose was a delicately written  _ Shay _ .

Angela pointed towards Adam, who was in khakis and a white button-down, who handed over the next rose. This one said  _ will. _

Shiro was next, and he was in white cut-offs and a cuffed white suit jacket. His rose said  _ you. _

Katie was breathing a little heavily as she stood in her white blouse and skirt, handing over her rose excitedly. Hers said  _ marry. _

Finally, Lance came out from behind one of the bouquets of balloons and handed over a bouquet of gilded roses of his own, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she read the note on this one, which said  _ me? _

When Lance stepped out of the way, Hunk was waiting behind him, kneeling with a look of such raw and unadulterated love and nervousness and anticipation that Shay almost fell over crying. Clutched in his hand was a ring, and Lance caught Shay and steadied her, walking her towards Hunk as tears streamed down her face.

“A few years ago I asked you what your favorite gemstone was. As you were a geologist in training I expected you to go on and on about the different properties and meanings, and you did, for hours,” they both laughed wetly, Hunk’s hands starting to shake, “You told me that morganite was the crystal of divine love. You told me that if you ever wanted to get married, that the engagement ring had to be morganite. It would prove to you that the person asking knew you well enough to know that you wanted a love that was beyond what any mortals could experience. You wanted a love that was more than just two people. You wanted someone who looked at you like the stars in the sky, and that if someone could propose to you with divine love, they would be yours forever.”

Shay was moving forward like a woman possessed now, and she realized that there were people coming out of the woodwork all around her that she hadn’t noticed. Friends, family, and coworkers were all gathered around them.

Hunk gestured to the group. “Our love is more than just the two of us, because we have so many people that surround us and bolster us up. I want to spend every day of the rest of my life looking at you like you are the stars in the sky, and I want to treat you like the goddess that you are to me.”

At this point Katie had come up behind Lance and was hugging him, the two of them welling with emotion after a day packed with hard work.

“Shay Jones, will you marry me?”

The pink ring was held up imploringly, and Shay collapsed to her knees and hugged Hunk to her, sobbing openly now and chanting “yes” over and over again.

Everyone cheered, and tears were going around. Hunk looked over Shay’s shoulder at Lance, who was clapping with a look of undisputed joy on his face.

“Thank you” he mouthed, and Lance nodded, wiping a tear from his face.

  
  


***

  
  


Later that night, as Angela and Lance fell back onto the couch, exhausted from the day’s activities, they were both silent as they processed and thought back over everything.

“They were so fucking happy,” Angela’s voice was full of emotion, and Lance smiled, bumping shoulders with her.

“We did good today, love.”

She looked over at Lance, who was beaming. She thought about the wedding dress. She thought about the heavy feeling settled deep in her gut. It was a problem for another day, a day that wasn’t as joyous and emotionally draining as this one.

“Yeah, we did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Angela's going away party holds some surprises.
> 
> What was your favorite part about the proposal?
> 
> SKIPPERS: Hey y'all. So Lance and Angela helped to plan Hunk's proposal to Shay. Katie is the one pulling the strings while the three of them work together to make it a magical night. At one point Angela thinks about how her and Lance never talk about getting married anymore. If you want to head right back into the Klangst fray, then proceed to chapter 15


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Angela's departure date approaches, the couple is forced to face very difficult realities. Later, Keith and Katie watch Scooby Doo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah you read that summary right. I regret nothing.
> 
> This is the first chapter of PART TWO

Angela’s going away party was at their favorite Latin Fusion place. There was housemade guacamole and platanos and a wide array of seafood. The margarita pitchers were emptying and refilling quickly.

The whole evening passed by in a blur. Lance and Angela’s hands were so tightly clasped together that they worried at points that their fingers would break. Hunk and Shay had organized the whole thing, and all of their friends came.

Partway through the evening another familiar face came through, which made Lance’s heart stop short.

A shy and hesitant smile was gracing Keith’s features. He caught sight of Shiro and hugged him, the older man looking completely taken aback. In fact, almost everyone was some level of confused at his arrival. When he made his way over to Angela, Lance realized that there was a tiny gift clutched in his hand.

Those hands, Lance realized with a twinge of guilt, were chapped, the nails bitten to the quick and cuticles torn to ribbons. 

When he got to Lance and Angela, most everyone was continuing their conversations but had their gazes firmly locked on the three of them.

“Keith,” Angela’s voice was heavy with something. Guilt, happiness, relief, regret, all swirled into something that made Lance’s grip on her hand finally loosen for the first time all night.

“Hey,” Keith came forward and pulled Angela into a gentle hug, and her eyes widened in shock, shining like she was going to cry. 

Then when he pulled away, he looked at Lance.

That chasm was between them again. Lance felt his chest start to constrict, felt his hands start to shake. Keith’s presence was affecting him so much more than he wanted it to, so much more than he expected it to. He hadn’t anticipated seeing Keith anytime soon.

Before he knew it Keith was leaning in towards him, too, and Lance felt his throat close up as purple eyes lined with silver and grey caught him and held him still as Keith’s arms encircled his shoulders. Lance froze like a deer in the headlights, rigid with unexpected and tense pain.

Then Keith was holding him, and the tense pain started to melt His body started to go lax in those arms. His heart restarted, and he could breathe again, could breathe the sharp leather and the warm honey scent that must have been Keith’s shampoo.

It ended as quickly as it began, but Lance felt the whirlwind of emotions settle over him chaotically, and he was staring at Keith’s schooled expression as the other man handed his tiny present to Angela. 

“I’m sorry that we didn’t get to spend more time together. I hope we can be friends once you get back.”

Two pairs of wide blues eyes were gazing at him in wonder or perhaps confusion. It might have been a little of both.

“Thanks Keith,” Angela’s hands came up to take the gift, and that was when Lance realized that Angela and him weren’t holding hands anymore.

He hadn’t remembered when they’d let each other go.

After that the world caught up to them. The music started to reach Lance again, and the two of them watched him go like he was some sort of mythical being.

For them, though, he was.

Keith mingled with Shiro and Adam, and Hunk came up behind Lance and patted his shoulder reassuringly. “You alright, dude?”

“I don’t think so,” Lance muttered before he even realized what he was saying, and both Hunk and Angela were watching him with something loaded and troubled.

Angela put the present on the top of her tiny gift pile and went back to mingling, Lance following her in a daze.

It was Angela’s party and all Lance could think about was the way Keith’s arms had felt around him. All he could picture were those guarded violet eyes that had trapped Lance effortlessly. There were toasts and tears shed and finally Angela stood in front of the group of their friends, clinking her spoon against the side of her glass.

“Hey everyone!” her bubbly personality lit her up immediately, and Lance felt sick. “I just want to say thank you to everyone. You guys have all been so supportive and kind during this whole crazy process, and I’m so grateful that I have such lovely people in my life.” 

There were a few muted claps or scattered “awww”s that made Lance’s lip quirk.

Glancing back over the group, Angela brushed her dark hair back behind her ear so that her expression, open and honest, was displayed. “I’ve known that I wanted to be a screenwriter since I was six. My parents love to tell me about when I would sit around with my dolls and create elaborate and silly storylines for them, guiding them through the script that I had come up with in my head. I would put on plays for my whole family, and puppet shows, and wrote simple and colorful fantasy novels. It was never a question for me what I wanted to do with my life.”

Lance had heard this speech before. He heard it when she was leaving for LA. He heard it when she graduated college. Now, the words seemed to ring true in a different way.

During all those speeches, Lance never imagined that she was talking about following those dreams without him. He always saw himself at her right hand, traveling with her, making her soup when she was sick, and picking her up when her dream started to seem too far out of reach.

Now a cold dread spread over Lance’s being, and his emotions that had been a wreck all night were starting to settle into an acceptance that made him want to scratch out of his skin.

“This is my first big break. I’ve never been more excited, or terrified, or unsure about anything in my life, but I know that it’s what I need to do. I won’t be gone forever, either. I’ll be back before you guys know it to tell you all about my adventures. I can’t wait to be able to make my dreams a reality, and I can’t wait to share them all with you guys. To all my friends that support me and keep me grounded, and to everyone here who has taken the time to wish me luck, I drink to you. To friendship!” she held up her glass and took a long sip, everyone else following suit.

Things were getting clearer now, and Lance could see it. He could see Angela sitting on a cliff top in Ireland, or laughing with friends over coffee, or working at the crack of dawn to get their shot in the golden hour. However, in all these images, Angela was standing alone.

Lance stared at her standing by herself in front of all their close friends. Her bright blue eyes were full of hope. Her shoulders were squared and ready to face something altogether overwhelming head-on. She was wearing a black jumper that accentuated all of her sharp angles, and for the first time in his whole life, Lance’s moon was moving but he wasn’t following.

He stared at her beauty, and then right before his eyes she slipped away over the horizon.

  
  


***

  


Lance and Angela were on their little access point in Malibu, and the two of them were sprawled out on their picnic blanket. Their hands were tangled loosely together, both of them staring at the fluffy clouds in the sky.

“I think it’s time to talk about it, Lance.”

The man tensed next to her. “I know.”

“I leave in a few days.”

“I know.”

The waves rushed back and forth, a soothing and steady beat over the racing in their hearts.

Angela was the first to sit up, staring out over the ocean thoughtfully. She couldn’t look into Lance’s eyes for this, she just couldn’t. “We used to talk about getting married all the time. We used to talk about our future and our children and how we would get a little house in Beverly Hills and adopt pit bulls. We used to be in sync, like our mothers said when we first met. We were two halves of the same whole.”

The use of the past tense made Lance’s chest constrict painfully.

“When things started changing, I didn’t know what to think. I tried to figure out if it was my career, or our apartment. I thought that it might be your sexuality, then I was worried that it was Keith, but we’ve been trying to bridge this gap for weeks now, baby, and it isn’t working.”

Even now in the harsh light of day Lance and Angela could feel their distance. Even with their hands being clasped between them.

“I know,” Lance closed his eyes and willed them to go back in time. He wanted it to be three years ago, when they were hopelessly in love, when he’d started to talk to Hunk about both of them proposing to their girlfriends. “I was helping Hunk plan the proposal and I realized that I was giving him the proposal I wanted to do for you. Then I realized… I wasn’t even sure if that's what I wanted, anymore.”

It stung both of them, and Lance sat up now, pulling his hand away, staring out over the ocean himself. 

“I love you with my whole heart, Lance,” Angela’s voice started to waver, “I just don’t know what’s happening to us.”

“I don’t either.”

They sat in silence while a seagull chirped nearby.

“I think we should take a break.”

Angela’s voice was determined but welling with emotion, and Lance felt the first tear fall. “I don’t know if I can do that, Angela. I don’t know how… how do I even live without you? I can’t even remember what it was like _before_.”

She started crying now, too, finally looking at him. Their hands came together again, and they were both shaking.

“I’m going to move my stuff into storage,” Angela said softly, swallowing around her tight throat, “When I leave for Ireland, I want us to take time to figure ourselves out. That means that for all intents and purposes, we’ll be broken up.”

Both of them sat in silence, the weight of what was happening settling on them and grounding them.

  


***

  


Angela pulled off to the side of the road, tears in her eyes as she sent a text out. She was alone in her car, on her way back to the apartment to pack her things.

_A: Thank you for coming to my party. I’m so sorry that things ended the way that they did. I was trying to do the right thing but I think I ended up hurting you even more. I’d really like to take you up on that friendship offer, if it still stands in a few months._

_A: Also, you were right._

She sent them off to Keith. She wasn’t going to tell Keith what he was right about, but Keith’s words rang in her ears.

“ _It wasn’t my fault that he was doing it, but it was my responsibility to let him know that he didn’t have to anymore_.”

This was going to hurt. No, even worse, it was going to tear them apart.

It would be okay, though. It had to be.

  


***

  


Lance was knocking on Allura’s door frantically. He knew she would be home, because it was her day off from teaching. He had Angela drop him off here, a short ten minute drive from where they had been talking, and Angela went back to the apartment to finish packing her things.

Heading towards her door up the front walkway was the longest trip of Lance’s life. All of his thoughts were cramming and caving in around him, and he knew he needed support but he just couldn’t think about it right now, couldn’t even process how his whole world was being ripped apart and scattered to the wind.

When Allura answered, she immediately saw his distraught face and went into crisis mode. Within minutes Lance was curled up in comfortable pajamas on her couch, wrapped in a warm blanket and nursing a hot chocolate. She turned on some _Friends_ in the background and quickly sat down on the couch next to him.

Her multifaceted eyes were so compassionate and serious that it made Lance want to cry even harder.

“What’s going on?”

“I… she… we…” Lance’s voice descended into further sobs, and he put down his hot chocolate, burrowing into the couch cushion and making himself safe in there.

The next few hours were a blur. At some point Allura had called Hunk and Shiro for help. Soon there was food ordered and people touching him and encouraging him to eat and drink. 

At some point Hunk whispered something to Allura, who came over and touched Lance’s arm gently.

“Lance, sweetie? Shay just helped Angela move the last of her stuff out. You can go back to the apartment.”

The idea of going back to that apartment that he hated made him nauseous. Instead of answering he ran to the toilet and threw up. Hunk was behind him muttering soothing words into his ear but he couldn’t hear any of it.

  


***

  


The next few days Lance was shuffled around. Angela was staying with Scarlett, and after the break-up Lance couldn’t even think about the apartment without breaking down into an anxiety attack. Hunk had gone and picked up all of his necessities, and Lance was wheeling his duffel from Allura’s place to Hunk’s and Shay’s and then to Adam’s and Shiro’s.

It was Shiro’s turn in the rotation, and he welcomed Lance in with a warm smile. “We’re making lasagna.”

Lance was sitting at the dinner table, staring off into space while Adam and Shiro went on and on about life. The group had recognized that Lance wasn’t talking to anyone past the necessary exchanges, so they had all stopped trying to force him to talk.

Luckily at work Lance could just plug his headphones in and tune everyone out, but it was harder when he was staying with someone. They were letting him stay, and it was social convention to hold conversations with them, and thank them, and avoid burdening them with his problems.

When they said good night to him, he just fell over into the guest bed, staring at his fingers blankly.

  


***

  


On the day Angela was leaving, Shay drove her to the airport. Beforehand they dropped her off at a little cafe that Lance and Angela had always liked, and the two of them caught each other’s eyes and just stared for a moment.

The two of them were barreled over with a rush of shock. It was too soon and simultaneously it had been far too long since they last saw each other.

After an uncomfortable amount of time they settled into a booth together, and the two of them made small talk over the bustle around them.

“Today’s the day,” Lance said with fake enthusiasm.

“Yeah. Today’s the day,” Angela responded, lip quivering.

Lance had practiced this, though. Him and Hunk had gone over and over it until he was blue in the face, so when Lance opened his mouth next, he was prepared.

“Angela, I know that things with us are messed up, but… I still love you. That doesn’t mean that we have to stay together or anything, and I know that. I just want you to know how proud I am that you are following your dreams. You’re going to do amazing out there, and when you come back I’ll be waiting. Whether that be as your friend, or your boyfriend, or as nothing at all, I’ll be ready to fulfill whatever role you need me to be.”

Blue eyes were staring, stunned, into their mirror, and Angela reached out and took Lance’s hand.

“How about I fulfill whatever role you need from me? You’ve changed yourself enough to fit my dreams. It’s time that you put yourself first,” she swallowed, “You’re going to do amazing, too. I’m so proud of how far you’ve come in your research, and maybe when I get back you’ll have a publication in the works. No matter what happens, I love you and want you to succeed in everything you do.”

They didn’t even stay long enough to get drinks. The short exclamations were too much. Angela ducked out of the cafe, leaving Lance sitting alone as the waiter came over to take their order.

  


***

  


Katie and Keith were sitting in his den, watching old _Scooby Doo_ episodes and occupying the same space. The two of them were both introverts at heart, and had taken to spending a lot of time together where they didn’t socialize at all, and instead just kept each other company silently.

That was when Katie got a ding on her phone, and her face went white.

“What’s up?”

She looked up in panic. “Nothing! It’s… okay I don’t care enough to hide this,” Katie brushed her cropped hair back, looking at Keith through the glare in her glasses, “Angela left today. Lance and her broke up a few days ago, and he’s a mess. Shiro and Adam are calling for back-up.”

Keith’s eyes widened into saucers. “They broke up?”

His voice was airy, like he wasn’t sure that he was in the real world instead of a dream. 

“This is what I was worried about,” Katie interjected, pinching Keith and narrowing her eyes. “You can’t go rubbing it in their faces. Lance is suffering right now. He needs his friends to rally.”

“Right,” Keith’s voice was quiet as he went back to watching the episode. “Rally.”

Within a few minutes the two of them were dressed and driving over to Shiro’s. It was Saturday late in the afternoon, which meant that Shiro and Adam had been keeping Lance busy all day. No wonder they called for backup, Keith thought warily.

When Katie rang the doorbell, Adam answered, his face full of relief. “Come on in, guys. We were thinking about playing Cards Against Humanity or something, and three people isn’t quite as fun.”

Adam let them into his and Shiro’s entryway. At the kitchen table Shiro and Lance were talking idly over steaming mugs of what looked like cider. When Keith caught sight of Lance his stomach plummeted. The usually playful man was slumped in his chair. The eyes that had previously been a vibrant, electric blue were dulled to a glassy haze. Lance’s hair, which was normally perfectly coiffed, was hanging lankly around his face.

“Hey Shiro, Katie is here. She brought Keith,” Adam’s voice was tight with something, and Keith found himself rolling his eyes. He was sure that they were trying to communicate between the two of them, but Keith found that he just didn’t care.

He only had eyes for Lance, the broken down boy who was sipping his cider with thinly veiled misery.

At Keith’s name, however, Lance’s eyes met his, and something passed between the two of them, some unnameable emotion that made them both straighten their postures. Lance’s mouth went slack.

Shiro smiled tightly. “Come on in, guys! We made some spiced cider. It’s on the stove.”

There was, in fact, a steaming pot on the stove hovering on the lowest setting, and Katie and Keith both went over and helped themselves. The five of them settled around the table, Katie telling Shiro and Adam about how Keith and him had been bingeing _Scooby Doo._

“I’m glad you guys are getting along,” Shiro said with a smirk behind his cider glass.

Keith scoffed. “Was that a dig at me or her?”

“I think it was at both of us,” Katie admitted with a gentle hand on Keith’s knee. “He just doesn’t understand our introverted ways.”

Keith cocked his eyebrow, eyeing Shiro with a sly grin. “I think he’s worried that we’re going to take over the world together.”

“That or just the state of California,” Katie responded thoughtfully, tapping her chin, “We should really set small goals and work our way up.”

The table was laughing at that, and Keith finally met Lance’s eyes again, who was chuckling around his cider. Surprisingly enough, they shared a smile.

“Alright, I’m dealing,” Adam interjected, picking up the white cards of the game and passing them around. The five of them all took their time to analyze their hands before Adam flipped the first black card.

A few rounds passed before the first real argument began.

Shiro was trying to judge the black card _Why am I sticky?_ , and he had narrowed it down to the answers _The miracle of childbirth_ and _A sad handjob_.

“Obviously it’s the miracle of childbirth!” Lance said without question, voice pitching a bit. “I don’t know how this is even an argument. Do you know how much other stuff comes out with the baby? It’s fucking gross. I was in the delivery room with one of my cousins and that shit is nasty.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “Yeah I get that, but it’s mostly the baby that’s all sticky. With a sad handjob, no matter who you’re referring to in that scenario usually at least one of them is sticky by the end of it.”

“This is why I don’t have sex,” Katie said offhandedly, looking at the cards with an amused expression. 

“Keith, my man, _everyone_ is sticky by the end of childbirth. You’re not even really sure how, but they are. I’m assuming you’ve never seen a baby being born?”

The model narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t, you’re right, but I’m assuming you _have_ experienced a sad hand job, so you at least understand what I’m talking about.”

Adam, Shiro, and Katie all gaped. It was an indirect reference to Angela, something that everyone had been avoiding at all costs. However, Lance’s face didn’t crumple. Instead, his hand slammed his cards down.

“I will have you know that I have never had a sad hand job in my life! All my hand jobs were very happy and pleasurable and passionate, thank you very much!”

“I don’t believe it,” the other man quipped.

“Well… believe it!”

Shrugging, Keith propped his cheek onto his hand. “Should I text Angela and ask?”

There was dead silence.

Now Keith hadn’t just referenced Angela, he had said her name. It was taboo around Lance at this point, and there was a visible shift in the expression of everyone in the room.

Everyone, that is, except Keith and Lance, who were still staring each other down.

“I dare you,” Lance deadpanned, “She’ll say the same thing.”

Clearing his throat, Shiro held up _The miracle of childbirth._

“Sorry Keith, but I have to go with Lance on this one.”

Stunned, Keith muttered angrily, “That’s it, I disown you.”

The table broke into laughter again, but the atmosphere had significantly lightened. When the five of them first sat down it was like they were all stepping on glass, and now there was an easy back and forth. Everyone was laughing and having intense and thoughtful arguments.

This time Adam had the prompt _What will always get you laid?_

He was torn between _The homosexual agenda_ and _Sexy pillow fights_.

Katie threw her hands up in the air. “You cannot tell me that you and Shiro don’t have sexy pillow fights???”

“We do!” Shiro huffed, “So I’m confused why this is even a question.”

Keith snorted. “I think that based off how gay you both are that it would make way more sense to say the homosexual agenda.”

“I agree with Keith,” Lance said with uncertainty. They really hadn’t agreed on much that night, but they were siding together on this.

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m ordering the pizza.”

He moved to get up, but Shiro grabbed his hand. “No, baby, darling, the love of my life, you have to make a choice!”

“Yeah, my choice is veggie lovers,” Adam snapped. His face wasn’t angry, though, instead it was soft and teasing as he looked back at Shiro.

“That’s not fair, Adam! Tell me I won!” Lance yelled as Adam walked towards the kitchen with his cell phone.

“Apparently that’s the end of that,” Katie said, happily counting up her black cards. She had won by a landslide.

“I just needed more time,” Lance grumbled.

Keith helped to clean up and chuckled at Lance. “Sure, whatever you say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“You aren’t as funny as you think you are.”

Lance choked on his response, eyes bugging out at Keith’s smirk. “I can’t believe that you have the nerve to say that! We were both on the homosexual agenda together! I thought we had forged a gay bond!”

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Keith said too late, the innuendo already out there, and the two of them caught each other’s eyes. There was a second of shock before they both dissolved into uncontrolled laughter, shaking as they tried to gather up the rest of the game.

Adam came back in. “The pizza is on its way.”

  


***

  


After eating their fill of pizza, they were all sitting around with their warm cider when Lance excused himself outside. The back of Adam and Shiro’s place was mostly windows, so Keith could see Lance settled on the railing, looking out over the scrub brush and tall trees in the lot behind their house.

Some stupid, reckless part of him urged him to go see if he was okay, and Keith was never very good at fighting his impulses.

“I’ll be back,” Keith said quickly, and Adam, Shiro, and Katie were watching him with thinly veiled interest as Keith followed Lance out the back door.

At the sound of the door opening, Lance turned. After seeing it was Keith his lips pulled into a little frown.

“Hey. I just wanted to check in on you,” Keith said in the way of an excuse, even though it was technically the truth.

“Thanks,” Lance said softly, taking another sip of cider. “I’m having fun.”

The words washed warm over Keith, making him feel lighter. “That’s good. I think everyone was worried about you.”

A sad smile passed across Lance’s previously pouting lips. “Does everyone include you?”

“Yeah,” Keith answered without hesitation, and Lance met his eyes. There was something swimming in the depths of his gaze, but Keith couldn’t place it.

“Oh.”

They were silent for a second before Lance said, “Thanks, by the way. I know that I’m not exactly your favorite person right now. It was nice that you came over with Katie.”

There was an apology woven into those words, one that loosened the knot in Keith’s chest.

“Anytime.”

In that word, there was forgiveness. 

They shared companionable silence for a short while before Lance bit his lip. “It’s weird, I don’t think we’ve been alone together since…”

“Yeah,” Keith hummed in acknowledgement.

“Would you want to grab lunch soon?”

Keith had to do a double take, searching Lance’s expression for some sort of joke or confusion, but there was nothing but naked loneliness written across his stupidly gorgeous face.

Which is why Keith found it in his heart to say, “Yeah, that would be nice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Keith and Lance finally talk
> 
> Which Cards Against Humanity card would you have picked? Lemme know in the comments
> 
> Remember, folks, we're on chapter 15. There's still plenty to go. Buckle up and get ready to roll.
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [ over here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works) :D


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance spend time together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!
> 
> I'm going to put a TRIGGER WARNING for some mild PTSD symptoms in this chapter- namely a few moments of dissociation that Lance has. I will include some more information on the topic below. If this makes you feel some type of way, please reach out to a loved one or a professional!
> 
> I would also like to make something clear here- I do not write unhealthy relationships without some sort of resolution. There are a few examples of such in this fic, and I want to stress that I'm not just going to push the problems these characters have with each other under the rug. It's counterproductive and, quite frankly, not as meaningful.
> 
> This is my last chapter of my super fun weekend posting bonanza<3
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

There was a themed bar and restaurant for everything scattered throughout LA. In fact, you were likely to find more than one of a kind depending on which neighborhood you were in. In West Hollywood, where Lance and Angela’s apartment was, Lance had a bunch of his favorite places. However, he had been staying with Shiro and Adam in Silver Lake. The little hipster neighborhood was full of fun places to eat, but it was unfamiliar to Lance. 

Keith had chosen for them, instead.

Adam hadn’t even batted an eye when Lance left for work two hours early, just asking that he gets back safely.

After a short walk around town he found the place that Keith had suggested. It was an brickfront Israeli restaurant, and the other man was already sitting outside, scrolling through his phone. He was wearing a tight t-shirt and a red and black leather jacket. His jeans were tight and led down to biker boots. Lance felt himself swallowing around the dry feeling in his throat.

When Keith looked up and his face recognized Lance, it brightened immediately, and that just made the nervousness in Lance’s gut worse.

They’d never gone out somewhere in public just the two of them, but here Lance was, standing a foot away from Keith on the sidewalk in the California heat. Despite the fact that it was fall, no one needed more than just a light jacket or sweater, the sunshine warming up the neighborhood nicely.

“So you’ve been here before?” Lance questioned, and Keith nodded.

“Yeah, I’m a fan. Shiro and Adam showed it to me,” Keith moved forward and held the door open for Lance, who pretended to curtsey in thanks.

“Seriously?” Keith raised an eyebrow as Lance came back up.

Lance’s face wasn’t falling from it’s goofy smile, though, as he said smugly, “Most people would say that my silliness is endearing.”

“Sure they do,” Keith chuckled, following Lance in. The entryway was narrow, and Keith found himself coming up next to Lance and unthinkingly putting his arm around Lance’s waist. They both didn’t even notice the contact until the hostess looked between the two of them with a smile.

“Lunch date?” she chirped happily, and Keith’s arm dropped, leaving them both blushing. The hostess didn’t even skip a beat. “For two, then.”

They were lead towards a tiny table by a stained glass window, both of them watching her leave with concern.

“What are you thinking? Is she brainwashed, or a cyborg?” Lance muttered to Keith, who was still tracking the woman with his eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Keith argued, crossing his arms, “She’s definitely just drugged up on a lot of benzos.”

Lance’s head whipped around and stared at Keith. “There’s nothing to say that she can’t be more than one of those options. I’m saying brainwashed on Xanax.”

“Seems about right,” Keith responded, barely suppressing the grin that was fighting to come out on his face.

The two of them took a moment to look at the menu. Lance kept sneaking up to look at the other man, though. He was washed out with the crimson and gold light from their stained glass window. It made Keith’s hair look fiery, and his already sharp and gorgeous features became even more defined. 

“What are you getting?” Keith asked while Lance was distracted by the way the light caught in his dark eyelashes.

Truthfully, Lance hadn’t been paying much attention to the menu. “Uh, I’m not sure. What’s good?”

They both placed their orders and sat sipping their waters, the quiet starting to become a little awkward.

“So, you want to know about Angela and I, right?” Lance said softly, so softly that Keith had to struggle to hear.

“No, Lance, you don’t have to…”

“It’s alright. No one else is asking right now. It’s kind of nice. Everyone’s been treating her name like it’s a forbidden word.”

Keith chewed his lip before he asked tentatively, “What did happen?”

Lance’s fingers fiddled with the straw in his drink. It was one of those reusable metal straws, and it made a loud clunking noise as it bounced around the edges of the cup. 

“We’ve been growing apart for a while now,” Lance knew that his voice was robotic, that it sounded dead, but it was the only way for him to explain this without breaking down. No one else had asked so far. “We’ve loved each other for so long that we weren’t even sure what was happening. When she gets back she said we can talk about it again. I don’t even know…” Lance swallowed around the lump in his throat. “She moved her stuff to storage for when she gets back.”

Lance knew that his face was getting red and his eyes were gleaming with tears, and he felt a hand come forward and lace its fingers with his. When Lance looked down, it was to Keith’s battered hand stroking his knuckles gently.

“I’m sorry if you got caught in the crossfire,” Lance whispered, “If anything, you were good for us.”

“You’re talking about her like the relationship is completely done, but… you said that you’re going to talk about it again when she gets back,” Keith looked a little concerned, brows knit in confusion.

“I don’t know, Keith. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I guess I have a few months to think about it.”

The other patrons were talking and laughing and clinking their plates around them as Lance gazed off into space, trying to ground himself in the moment.

It’d been happening a lot in the last few days… weeks?... that Lance would be going about what he was doing and suddenly everything tilts just slightly to the right. Reality itself seemed to change just a little, just enough that his perspective became unmoored and shaky. He would spend a few moments trying to figure out if he was awake or dreaming.

Awake or dream?

Awake?

Dream?

Keith looked like a fucking fairy tale, and Lance had never been to this restaurant before. Where was Angela? Ireland, right. Wait, was she really? Or was that all a dream too?

Awake?

Dream?

A voice was coming through way too much cotton, and suddenly Lance felt Keith’s hand move in his, tightening his grip to almost painful levels.

It was the pain that snapped him back, and Lance felt himself come back to the moment with a resounding thought: awake.

“What was that? Are you okay?” Keith looked panicked, and Lance tried to slow his heartbeat and close his eyes.

“Yeah, just… I just feel a little off, that’s all. It helps to focus on something specific.”

Thoughtful for a moment, Keith asked, “Tell me about work.”

Lance brightened right up, his hand going from lax to sturdy in Keith’s grip. “Things are going great. Katie is a few weeks into testing for her experiment, and after we get the initial results then we’re going to start running my specimens.”

It went on like that for a few moments, his mind happily focusing on the one thing in his life that wasn’t falling apart: his research project.

Even though Keith had listened to Lance talk about his research before this, Lance was still surprised by the spark of interest in Keith’s eyes. The other man seemed honestly curious about what Lance was doing. He asked questions and listened with an owlish expression that could easily be mistaken for wonderment.

When their food arrived, Lance dug in, his body finally back to a calmer state than before.

They finished eating and Keith swallowed, wondering where they went from here.

“Uh… did you want to come back to my place?” Keith asked hesitantly, but Lance just cocked his head with a confused smirk.

“I have work now, dufus. I just…” ... _ wanted to see you. _

_...wanted to hear your voice _

_...wanted to know that things between us could be salvaged _

_...wanted you to know that I didn’t forget about you, that I can’t forget about you… _

Keith’s face fell into some type of relief that Lance wasn’t able to decipher, followed by something conflicted flitting behind his eyes. “Oh, alright then. Um… did you want to stop by after work?”

The question rang heavily between them, and Lance’s amused face settled back into something stunned. “Yeah, that would be great. I can grab some wine or something on the way.”

Shaking his head, Keith touched Lance’s hand carefully. “I’ll make us some fancy virgin cocktail. I’m trying not to drink for a while.”

There was curiosity that flashed on Lance’s face, but he quelled it in recognition that he could always ask later. “Yeah, that sounds good. Are you sure you’re willing to wait for me?”

“I’m always up late anyway,” Keith nudged him with a smile, and the two of them were suspended suddenly, caught in each other’s gaze with the realization that it was just them.

It was just the two of them making plans.

There were no rules and no contracts, just two people who wanted to spend time together.

It felt fresh. It was the beginning of something that they couldn’t name yet. 

It made butterflies beat in Lance’s stomach as he walked away.

  
  


***

  
  


His mother called for the fourth time in the last week during his dinner break. He became worried that she was having someone spy on him, because she seemed to always call when he was free. It was eerie.

Whether it be a spy or mother’s instincts, Lance answered with false happiness.

“ _ Mama! You are looking as gorgeous as always!” _

Benita chuckled indulgently. “ _ You can’t see me, my love, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.” _

_ “I don’t need to see you. You are always beautiful,”  _ Lance said earnestly. One of his favorite pastimes was making his mom smile. She’d been really worried about him since Angela left, and was careful to check in often. When Lance realized how worried she was, he made a conscious effort to sound chipper when talking to her.

The last thing he wanted her to do was worry.

“ _ My son, you spoil me,”  _ her voice cooed, and then she switched the topics, “ _ I wanted to talk to you about something, though.” _

That can’t be good. The last few times they talked they’d been avoiding talking about Angela at all costs. His mother just knew that Angela left, and that they were on a break. Lance hadn’t been able to get into details.

“ _ I was talking with Mariana yesterday. She was saying that she was under the impression that you two were still together. She mentioned the break as due to the distance. Is that true? If that’s true why did you worry me?” _

The words made Lance’s throat start to close, his leg bouncing with nerves. Mariana Garcia was Angela’s mother. Mariana only heard what she wanted to hear. He was sure that Angela had explained the extent of the situation, but Mariana had zeroed in on the parts that included the words “break” and “talk about it when she gets back”.

_ “It’s complicated, mama, but it’s definitely a break-up for right now. I’m sure that Angela didn’t intend to be misleading.” _

His mother hummed on the other end. “ _ Okay darling. I believe you. Tell me all about Hunk and Shay, though! You only sent me pictures of the engagement. You never told me what happened!” _

Hunk and Shay was a safe topic. They were two friends that were floating in their own rose-tinted bubble of happiness, and Lance could spend hours with them. Instead of jealousy, Lance felt nothing but deep-seated admiration and love.

So he told his mother about planning the engagement, and when he finished his break he went back to lab feeling a tiny bit lighter.

  
  


***

  
  


Hunk was waiting for Lance after they finished up for the night. “Are you headed back to Adam’s and Shiro’s? You’re welcome to stay with me again for a few days,” he said with a measured and careful tone, trying not to sound too pushy.

Biting his lip, Lance just threw him a sad smile. “I’m good for right now. I’m actually hanging out with Keith after this.”

That threw Hunk for a loop. “Keith? As in, like, Keith Keith?!”

Rolling his eyes, Lance muttered, “Yes, that Keith.”

“You mentioned that you wanted to be friends with him,” Hunk remembered, brow furrowed, “I guess that’s good, then.”

There was unspoken concern, but Lance knew that Hunk wasn’t going to judge Lance. At this point he was just happy that Lance was alive and functional. Lance could probably change his name, dye his hair, and join a death cult and Hunk and Shay would just throw him a thumbs up in support.

“How weird would it be if I had sex with him?” Lance asked then, feeling his stomach clench. Was he going to use Keith to help him get over Angela? Was he comfortable doing that? Would Keith even be okay with that?

Suddenly instead of excited Lance was very, very nauseous at the thought of heading to Keith’s. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to have sex with Keith, because he most definitely did, but...

  
  


“Whoa, Lance, chill. Just start with hanging out tonight. Play it by ear,” Hunk used a soothing tone, seeing the panic behind Lance’s expression, “and don’t forget that you’re going through a rough time right now. You deserve to have fun and be happy.”

“Yeah,” Lance mused, reaching over and squeezing Hunk’s bicep. “Thanks, dude. I appreciate the pep talk.”

“Anytime, bro.”

  
  


***

  
  


When Lance pulled up to Keith’s, he had to steady himself for a few minutes before he managed to stand up and head towards the door. He tried not to conjure up all the other times that he’d done the same thing, and tried his best not to think about Angela and him walking up the same path together.

When he knocked, it only took a moment before Keith was at the door, and Lance felt his breath punch out of him.

Keith at lunch had been a casual, safe, public Keith. This Keith was dangerous. His eyes were sparkling with happiness, a thousand-watt smile brightening his expression. His hair was pulled half back into a bun, and he was wearing a tight tank top and loose track pants that hugged his thighs and ass gloriously. 

Before either of them said anything, they both stared at each other across the threshold, taking each other in silently. It felt like a dream to Lance, to have Keith so casual and happy to see him. 

There was a part of Lance that thought that Keith would never forgive him. That thought was enough to make Lance’s hands shake every time they saw each other until now.

Now, though, Lance saw the unbridled joy in Keith’s face. It was mirrored in his own. His nerves left him in a rush, and he was quickly filled with fondness. It was enough of whiplash that Lance wondered if the switch was hazardous to his health.

“Hi,” Keith finally spoke, his voice grumbling as his eyes swept over Lance.

“Hi back,” Lance responded, and was drawn in like a magnet towards Keith. Everything inside of him told him to reach out and hold onto the other man. He wanted to grip him tightly until the situation felt real. Before Lance knew it, he was hugging Keith with an iron grip.

Instead of wincing or tensing, Keith practically melted into the embrace. It made Lance’s knees weak.

“I’m glad you came,” Keith breathed, and Lance’s chest fluttered.

“Yeah, well,” Lance exerted effort to remove himself from Keith’s arms, looking pained, “It turns out that I enjoy your presence. It’s like we’re friends or something.”

The final two words echoed in the entryway eerily.

_...or something… _

“I don’t know,” Keith said thoughtfully, frowning, “I just thought we fucked sometimes.”

Somehow the comment only relaxed Lance further as he followed Keith back towards the kitchen. “That isn’t all, Keith! Don’t reduce us to the sex!” Lance elbowed Keith playfully, “You are also my flip cup archrival.”

An amused smirk was thrown at him, and Lance decided that playful Keith was his favorite Keith. The way Keith’s eyes sparkled, the way his expression went from his normal level of guarded to something soft and unfiltered, all did  _ things _ to Lance’s heart. 

“Now that you mention it, I remember us forming a gay bond during Cards Against Humanity,” Keith led Lance to a pitcher of a bright red liquid, “I’m sorry that I forgot.”

“I don’t think I can ever forgive you,” Lance teased.

“Yeah well then you don’t need to have any of this punch I made,” Keith swiped the pitcher up and started walking away from Lance.

“Hey, whoa, I take it back! I forgive you!” Lance started walking after Keith, trying and failing to grab for the pitcher.   
  
After a few moments of chasing Keith pulled down two glasses and poured their drinks out, a goofy grin lighting his face up. 

“So what did you want to do tonight?” Lance asked as he sipped giddily on the punch.

“Honestly?” Keith said thoughtfully, “I was thinking about watching a movie, but now I feel like getting someplace high.”

“Do you mean drugs?” Lance said with wide eyes, and Keith snorted, shaking his head and laughing at the terror on Lance’s face.

Blinking, Lance asked, “Like, a building or something? Is that what you meant?”

“Yeah,” Keith mused, sipping the punch, “When I need to think I like looking down on things from above.”

Though Lance didn’t understand it, his stomach twisted at the thought of Keith deep in thought staring off into the distance.

“Yeah, I think I know just the place.”

  
  


***

  
  


“What are we, tourists?” Keith muttered.

Lance and Keith were wandering around the walkway lining the edge of Griffith Observatory. As usual it was jam packed full of out-of-towners. The stars were blocked out mostly from the LA light pollution, but from this view the two of them could see most of LA, and the Hollywood sign was a tiny lit up specticle from a distance. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve never been up here!” Lance’s eyes widened, “No way! You haven’t, have you!?”   
  


“I’m not a tourist,” Keith defended, crossing his arms nervously.

“You’ve lived in LA for seven years and never came up to the Observatory?”

“Shut up,” Keith moaned, “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

At that Lance’s hand slipped in the crook of Keith’s elbow to guide him to a different viewpoint. “You’re here with a local expert, in fact!”

“Fantastic.”

They made their way until they hit a stretch of the walkway that wasn’t as crowded. They leaned on the edge and looked down the mountain, the view from above doing things to Lance’s sense of reality.

His hand was still tucked into Keith’s elbow as they looked in silence.

“Is this high enough?” Lance’s voice dropped at that, like Keith’s desire to be up high was a secret.

“I think so,” Keith said honestly, and it was. It was perfect. Keith felt the world slip away beneath him, just ants and toy cars and buildings compared to everything else in the universe.

As Lance squeezed his arm reassuringly, he knew with certainty that this was just what he needed.

“Do you want me to give you a minute alone?” Lance asked. Keith wasn’t sure when Lance had gotten so close, but his breath ghosted down Keith’s neck, making him shiver with sudden desire.

He tried his best to not let himself sound too shaky as he answered, “No, it’s okay. Stay with me.”

The two of them enjoyed the view for a few more minutes in silence. It was comfortable and natural.

The hum of other people’s voices was white noise around them, and the two of them got lost in the moments of taking in the wonder of what was before them, lights winking up at them from the city below.

“When I was younger I wanted to be a astronaut,” Keith said suddenly, and Lance looked over at him curiously. “I would read star charts and do research into aliens and watch documentaries on other planets. I wanted to go out into space and explore the galaxy.”

Lance’s breath caught, feeling nervous for him to continue. “What happened?”

“Life happened,” Keith admitted, leaning forward on the edge and tucking his chin into his free hand. “I was bouncing around to different foster families and at some point I sat down with a physics professor and he told me that my grades would never be good enough to get into any space programs. So I gave up on that dream.”

The words were full of regret, and Lance found himself gripping Keith tighter. “I’m sorry that you couldn’t follow your dream.”

“It’s okay,” Keith muttered, even though it clearly wasn’t, “I’m successful. I have more money than I know what to do with. It’s okay.”

Swallowing thickly, Lance whispered, “It’s not, though.”

“I didn’t realize that you knew more about me than I did.” 

Keith had meant it in a lighthearted and joking manner, but it ended up coming out as something small and scared. Without realizing it, Keith had shifted further into Lance’s grip, and where their bodies pressed together in the chilly evening was surprisingly soothing.

“What did you want to be when you grew up, then?” Keith asked, trying to change the topic. 

“That’s easy!” Lance grinned, “I wanted to be a biologist!”

“Aren’t you a biologist now?”

“Yup!”

“Wow, way to rub it in,” Keith nudged him in the ribs, and Lance just ran a hand over Keith’s back like he was consoling him.

“Just because you aren’t an astronaut doesn’t mean that you can’t still attain your dreams. You just have to come up with new ones.”

The words sunk heavily into Keith’s stomach. 

“Do you remember your birth parents?” Lance asked quietly.

“My mom left before I can remember. My dad never talked about her, and I never saw any pictures. For all intents and purposes she doesn’t exist. My dad died when I was eleven. He was a firefighter, and he was always risking his life to save other people. He was a self-sacrificing asshole with a martyr complex.”

“Oh,” Lance said quietly, and the hand was rubbing up and down Keith’s back again. He wasn’t used to being taken care of like this. Shiro and Adam weren’t touchy people. It felt good, but also set him on edge.

“What about your family?” Keith asked distantly.

“Oh, um, well I have mom and dad. They were both hardworking and doting parents. I have my brothers and sisters who are all older than me. My brother Luis is married, too, so I have a niece and nephew. I only see them a few times a year, though. It’s usually around the holidays.”

Keith didn’t understand that, exactly. There was never anyone to miss for him, and looking at the way Lance’s unfocused eyes filled with emotion, he felt a pang of jealousy. 

“It’s nice that you have Shiro here,” Lance said then, and Keith felt himself relax a bit in Lance’s grip.

“Yeah. He can be a pain in the ass, but he’s been there for me as long as I’ve known him.”

Humming, Lance said, “He seemed very protective of you.”

“I can handle myself,” Keith snapped.

“I don’t know, you feel like skin and bones to me…” Lance’s hands were now ghosting over Keith’s arms and his shoulders, and the other man froze under the ministrations.

“I’m scrappy,” he sniffed, trying to salvage his pride.

“Uh-huh,” Lance’s fingers then trailed down to his sides. Keith was so lost to the sensation of touch that when Lance attacked him with tickles he squeaked in surprise.

“Lance! Stop! Ugh you’re so annoying,” Keith was laughing though, unable to maintain his anger as soon as he saw the teasing look in Lance’s eyes, full of nothing but fondness and humor.

While standing over the city of LA and with hundreds of people milling about the property Lance pulled Keith into a chaste, heart-stopping kiss that sent Keith flying into the stratosphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Milkshakes, snuggles, and pet names.
> 
> If you like this check out my other fics!
> 
> Notes on dissociation: Dissociation is oftentimes felt by people who suffer from some sort of PTSD or emotional overload. It is a sensation of being separate from the world around you. Oftentimes it is described as an out-of-body experience or a suspension of reality. In my experience in the mental health field I've seen it manifest as a dream-like state, or a state of delayed recognition. What Lance experiences here is most closely described as "derealization" or the feeling that you aren't currently living out something real. His mind starts to interpret the odd state of mind as some sort of dreamlike state.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance wants a pet name for Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've returned! After my three chapter weekend I'm back a few days later with this baby. Be prepared to deal with sickening smuff. (smut/fluff)
> 
> As usual I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

The kiss on the outer edge of the observatory was short, but it left them both breathless. Keith was overwhelmed with sensation. He had spent the last few weeks with rushed mouths and singular destinations whenever he was touching someone. This wasn’t a kiss seeking anything, though. It was sweet and short and made Keith’s stomach do somersaults.

“You know what I could really go for right now?” Lance asked seriously, lips still pressed close to Keith’s. The odd contact of Lance’s lips moving made Keith grin goofily.

“What?”

Lance took a deep breath, looming a little higher than Keith in that moment, gazing down at Keith with an expression that was bursting with lust and interest. Keith’s blood was already humming. The way that the moon fell against Lance’s face, the way that Lance had somehow rendered Keith immobile, all indicated that Lance wanted to go back to Keith’s house and have sex with him.

At this point in time, Keith wouldn’t be opposed.

“I really want to take you…” Lance cocked his head to the side playfully, “...to get milkshakes.”

Keith pulled back, mouth dropping open comically wide. “I… you…” his cheeks were blushing bright red as Lance cackled.

“You should have seen your face! It was priceless!” Lance hadn’t let Keith go, and was laughing so hard against Keith’s chest that tears were streaming down his face.

“You’re an asshole,” Keith grumbled, trying to extricate himself from Lance’s hold only to be clung to tighter. “Okay, now you’re an asshole and a koala. Get off me! I’ll go get milkshakes with you!”

At that Lance pulled away, his whole mood shifted to something innocent and hopeful. “Really?”

“Really, now call a car before I change my mind.”

The crowds of people had thinned out at the late hour, but Lance still led Keith back to the roadway. Their hands were held loosely between them and it was sending Keith into overdrive. He wasn’t sure if his hand was too sweaty, or if he was shaking, or if he was too close to Lance as they were walking.

It ended up being a non issue, however, and within a few minutes they were sitting outside of Lance’s favorite burger place.

“They serve milkshakes?” Keith asked skeptically, but Lance had his hand again and he was following without questioning it any further.

There weren’t too many people packed into the restaurant, and soon Lance and Keith were seated in a two-person booth, and Keith was gazing with wide eyes at the menu.

“There are literally hundreds of options,” Keith choked, flipping through it frantically.

“Yeah but I always get the same thing,” Lance dismissed, fiddling with the menu that he wasn’t even looking at.

“Then you have no idea if the rest of these are good,” Keith pointed out, and Lance just shrugged.

Their waitress stopped over, and when she asked if she could help them with anything, Lance interjected with, “This is my friend’s first time here. What milkshake do you recommend?”   
  


Raising an eyebrow, she pointed at a few options on the menu. “Well, welcome! People say that our caramel dream is their favorite, but I prefer our rocky road shake. It’s got melted marshmallow, chocolate chips, and tons of nuts.”

“That one,” Keith said with relief as Lance ordered what was called a “chocolate lava dream”.

“Thanks,” Keith said softly, and Lance just beamed at him. 

“I’m just happy that you get to discover the magic of these milkshakes. It will change your whole life.”

Keith dug into his pocket and pulled out his lactose intolerance pills, popping two with the water they’d been served. Lance looked confused.

“I’m lactose intolerant,” Keith explained, and Lance gasped in shock.

“Wait, wait, wait if I knew that I wouldn’t have forced you to come here! Now I feel like an asshole, I’m so sorry Keith…”

“I wanted to come,” Keith said honestly, “I took my pills so I should be fine. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

Lance was still unconvinced.

When their milkshakes came out, in fact, Keith was even more sure that it would be worth it. The cups were piled high with whipped cream and different sauces, with cherries on top. Lance’s had a brownie on a stick popping out the top, and Keith’s had a toasted marshmallow.

“Here you go, gentlemen. If you need anything let me know.”

“I’m in heaven,” Keith mumbled, unwrapping his straw and sticking it into his drink.

After the first sip of the icy sweet explosion, Keith made a noise that was almost inappropriate for public.

Lance was watching him with amusement as Keith said hastily, “Oh hell yeah this is 110% worth it. I think I’m in love.”

The other man hadn’t even looked at his own milkshake, instead electing to watch Keith nibble on the marshmallows and lick at the whipped cream. At one point Lance noticed a little bit of whipped cream that had stuck to his nose, and Lance didn’t have the heart to tell him.

Well, he didn’t have the heart to tell him, but he did snag a pic and sent it to both Hunk and Shiro.

That was when Keith looked up in confusion, pointing to Lance’s milkshake. “Why aren’t you having any of yours?”

“I’m enjoying the show,” Lance teased, and Keith’s eyes narrowed. He threw a napkin at Lance in retaliation.

“Shut up.”

“Never.”

Pretty shortly thereafter, though, they were both devouring their sugar overloads. At one point they both became far too full, so they slowed down a bit to avoid being sick.

“I didn’t think that models were allowed to have indulgences like this,” Lance questioned.

“Oh, well, as long as my body is still in good shape they don’t care. Besides, I haven’t been working much.”

It was the wrong thing to say, however, because Lance’s smile fell. “Why not?”

“I don’t need to right now,” Keith was quick to try to fix the situation, “I’ve been taking some me time.”

“Oh.”

The conversation went into a lull for a moment as they both finished up their shakes. They left money on their table and headed back out, this time their hands finding each other without conscious effort.

“My place isn’t actually that far,” Keith realized. “It’s probably a twenty minute walk. Is that okay?”

Lance glanced down at the hands between them and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

They wandered down the mostly deserted streets at this point. It was almost midnight, after all, and a weeknight. Not everyone was free to sleep in the next morning. They chatted idly about their favorite foods, favorite colors, and favorite animals. They were both happy to learn that their favorite animals were both lions.

All too soon they were standing outside of Keith’s house. This was the part that Lance was supposed to leave, right? That was how hanging out was supposed to go? Lance was suddenly unprepared for whatever was coming next.

When Keith turned around, though, he was confident. “Let’s go inside.”

They filed into Keith’s place, heading back towards the den. Keith plopped down on the couch and turned on the tv, quickly flipping to a nature documentary.

“Oh cool, I’ve never seen this one,” Lance admitted, but then was taken aback by the way Keith was sitting. It was an open position so that Lance can settle in between his legs while also staring at the screen.

_ Jump, Lance. _

He shed his shoes and carefully sat down, leaning back against Keith’s steady and strong chest. The feeling of being completely surrounded on all sides was so comfortable. Lance felt like he was caged in and safe as Keith’s one hand quickly tangled with Lance’s.

They watched the documentary with the lights down low. It wasn’t too far into the movie before Lance fell fast asleep tucked against Keith’s body. Then Keith realized and froze, doing his best not to wake Lance up.

It didn’t take long for Lance’s rhythmic breaths pressing against Keith’s chest slowed his own breathing down, and without much else holding him in the waking world he passed out as well.

  
  


***

  
  


When Lance woke up, he was dazed for a few minutes before he felt strong arms adjust around him. He sighed into the contact, nuzzling further into a warm chest with a steady heartbeat.

Then, after a second, his eyes shot open.

“Fuck,” Lance muttered, searching around for his phone. It was 7 AM, and he had a few texts from Shiro.

_ S: Hey are you coming back tonight? _

_ S: Could you let me know if you’re staying somewhere else? It’s fine but I worry. _

_ S: Are you okay? _

There was a buzzing sound suddenly, and it wasn’t coming from Lance’s phone. Keith groaned, feeling around for his own phone with his eyes still closed.

When he found it he fumbled to answer it. “Hello?”

There was chatter on the other end before Keith’s eyes opened and looked at Lance questioningly. “Yeah, Shiro, Lance is with me. We fell asleep watching a documentary.”

Lance’s eyes widened as Keith listened to Shiro talk some more. 

“Okay, yeah, I’ll tell him. Go to work, old man,” Keith said playfully, and Lance could hear laughter on the other end before they both hung up.

The situation finally settled over Lance. Keith and him had fallen asleep together on the couch watching a documentary. Lance was still nestled between Keith’s legs, curled up against his chest.

When Lance sat up, his breathing was erratic before he turned around to catch Keith’s eye.

Keith didn’t look scared, though. Keith’s face was subtly happy, almost amused by Lance’s expression. His cheeks were flushed, and there was something about it that made Lance’s heart melt.

“Good morning,” Keith said, leaning towards Lance so that they were hovering just an inch apart from each other.

Lance was having trouble breathing, but he managed to stutter out, “G-good morning.”

“I don’t think that I’ve ever slept the night on this couch. It’s surprisingly comfortable,” Keith acknowledged. His fingers were suddenly sliding along the strip of skin that was uncovered along Lance’s torso. At the touch of his cold hands Lance shivered and closed his eyes, wanting to remember this feeling.

Everything else became background noise, their worlds narrowed down to the limited space between them, and Lance realized with a start that there was simply  _ too much space. _

So he closed the gap.

This kiss was not the gentle, reassuring press of lips from last night. No, this was two lovers who had been separated, two lovers who had found their way back to each other. It was messy, a clash of teeth and tongue, with biting being just as common as actual kissing. They both moaned into the connection.

Lance thought for a moment about how they’d only kissed a few times, right? They’d only had sex a few times, too. This shouldn’t have felt like a reunion, but it still did. His body was lighting up with pleasure and happiness from just kneeling in Keith’s lap and wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck, pulling them close together.

When they came up for air, their breathing was ragged, their chests rising and falling in such close proximity that they would brush together. Lance quickly put his lips to work kissing Keith’s jawbone, and then his neck, and then his collarbone. Keith’s hands were roaming over his chest as he did so, the both of them taking in as much of the other as they could.

“Lance,” Keith hissed when Lance kissed a spot just above his pectoral. Smiling, Lance teased at the spot by nipping it gently, and Keith’s forehead dropped to Lance’s shoulder. “Do that again.”

So Lance did, licking at the irritated skin and laving over it for a few seconds, giving it the attention Keith requested. 

Neither of them tried to go further for a while. They made out on the couch like two horny and inexperienced teenagers, their hands roaming and discovering and feeling.

After a while Keith broke them apart, fingers running erotically through Lance’s hair. “I need a shower. You can help yourself to breakfast.”

Lance’s eyes widened, and he furrowed his brow. Keith made to move him out of his lap, but Lance shook his head, rising up to pin Keith underneath him.

“I’m not going to help myself to breakfast, dumbass,” Lance’s eyes roamed over Keith’s body slowly, “I want to shower with you.”

“Oh,” Keith whispered, “I guess that’s okay. I’ve never showered with anyone before.”

“What?!” Lance gasped, touching Keith’s cheek. “This needs to change immediately. Come on, Keithy boy.”

Lance stood up, a tad wobbly, and reached his hand out to help Keith up. Lance was momentarily distracted by how Keith’s hair had turned wild in the nighttime from static electricity and being pressed up against the back of the couch. However, Lance eventually realized that Keith’s entire face had fallen into horror. 

“What?”

_ “Keithy boy?!?!” _

Scoffing, Lance just shrugged. “I don’t know, what do you want me to call you?”

“Literally anything else!”

“How about mullet?”

“I don’t have a mullet!”

“Sure you don’t. What about babe?”

“Never happening.”

“Alright well then whatever. We’ll work on it,” Lance huffed in annoyance, reaching out his hand again. “Come on, insert-pet-name-here.”

Keith took Lance’s hand but appeared exasperated. “That is only marginally better.”

“It’s progress!”

The both of them were moving towards Keith’s bathroom, and the closer they got the more nervous Keith got. As he turned on the hot water, his hands started to shake

“Hey,” Keith then said suddenly, “Are you sure you don’t want to take turns? I won’t be that long…”

Blue eyes shifted into concern, and Lance’s hand stroked Keith’s cheek gently. “Hey, we don’t have to do this. I’d love to, but if you aren’t comfortable I can go eat breakfast.”

“I know, it’s just…”

“I’ve already seen you naked,” Lance teased, fingers poking at Keith’s belly. “I won’t judge you. If anything it’ll be nice to get a chance to really look at you.”

The honesty in Lance’s eyes seemed to do Keith in. “Fine, you win. If you go blind from my pale skin reflecting the florescents, then it’s your own fault.”

“I’ll gladly take one for the team,” Lance teased, starting to strip himself down.

Getting naked around another human is always a meaningful experience. It was baring yourself to them, leaving yourself vulnerable for attack. When it involved sex, the bodies are used as fine-tuned instruments to accomplish a mutual goal. When it didn’t, however, things became even more confusing. Keith turned around in all his naked glory, perfect and tight ass leading up to a toned back that rippled as he shed his shirt. When Lance saw Keith like this, it caused Lance’s mind to white out.

Somehow it was even more intimate when they weren’t having sex.

Once they were both naked they turned to face each other, and Lance too a moment to survey Keith’s body carefully, biting his lip adorably as he did so.

“Just like I remember it,” Lance said with a smile, fingertips coming up to brush against the inside of Keith’s wrist.

How does such a tiny touch on such an insignificant stretch of skin cause Keith to react so much? Even just the fingertips on his wrist made him freeze up, breath stuttering in his chest. The way his body shivered made Lance’s insides melt into goop.

“Come on,” Keith whispered, pulling Lance into the shower stall with him.

The two of them took a minute to figure out how to maneuver themselves. Keith tested out a few showerhead settings until he found one that actually covered most of each other’s bodies. Then, when they figured it out, Keith turned to Lance with a determined expression.

“What? Does my hair look weird?” Lance asked self consciously, but Keith just smirked, shaking his head.

Then he fell to his knees.

“Oh shit,” Lance took a step back until he was leaning against the wall, knees shaking as Keith shuffled to follow him.

“I was hoping you’d give me consent. I don’t think ‘oh shit’ qualifies.”

This had to be a dream. Keith was looking up at him with clumpy eyelashes, the water running down his gorgeous naked body in tiny streams. This had to be a dream.

“Yes, hell yes,” Lance finally moaned as Keith came forward slowly.

Keith had given Lance head before, but this was different. Lance could tell the moment they started that this wouldn’t be like last time. Keith’s mouth came forward and he nuzzled his cheek against Lance’s quickly hardening member, then pressed a feather-light kiss to the hairless skin just above the shaft.

That alone made Lance grab onto the ledge in the stall.

Keith did the same thing around the base of Lance’s shaft, each kiss unwinding Lance’s nerves and his lust until he was finally going with it and enjoying it. It was obvious when Lance had finally let go, and the shift from nervous to unbridled ecstasy flooding his veins. Keith must have been paying attention, because when he saw the shift in mood Keith hummed around Lance’s cock happily.

Then he licked a long stripe up the underside of Lance’s shaft and set to work.

Combining his hand and lips Keith was able to cover the entire cock in front of him. Lance’s fingers found their way into Keith’s hair, just long enough that he could tug and manhandle it without doing any damage.

Sinking into the warm flesh of Keith’s mouth was a perfect kind of torture. It made Lance wonder, briefly, if he’d ever get the chance to sink into another part of Keith…

...he didn’t last that long, however. After a few moments Lance was gripping even tighter on Keith’s hair, mumbling, “I’m coming.”

The bright light of pleasure seared through Lance’s whole body, and he was temporarily suspended in a feeling on total and complete bliss before lowering back down to earth.

Or, more appropriately, to the tile floor.

When Lance hit the ground he surged forward and kissed Keith, fingers digging sharply into Keith’s back as he pulled them together.

“Me next,” Lance whispered, and Keith laughed wetly against Lance’s lips as hot water spilled between their faces. “Stand up.”

“It might be easier if I sit down,” Keith recommended, pulling himself up onto the little ledge and widening his stance. Lance came up to his knees, swallowing around the lump in his throat as he took Keith in.

It was suddenly blaringly obvious that Lance had never done this before. He was frozen, taking in the size and the girth of Keith. His lips parted unthinkingly, and he reached forward with both hands. Keith was almost fully hard, so Lance’s hand slid over the sensitive flesh to bring him to his mouth.

“Take your time,” Keith hissed between breathy moans as Lance’s hands played with him. Finally, after a few seconds of contemplating, his lips tentatively encircled Keith’s cockhead and sucked. “Fuck!”

That encouragement made Lance bolder, sinking his lips further down Keith’s cock, careful not to let his teeth get too involved. It didn’t seem to matter, though. Keith was falling apart above him despite his lack of finesse.

“Fuck you look so good like this,” Keith growled, “It’s like you belong between my legs.”

The words set fire to Lance’s veins, and his sucking and licking became more frantic. 

“Do you like sucking my cock? Do you like having it inside of you no matter what?”

Keith knew that Lance couldn’t answer, but it only made it better. That way, no matter what Keith said, the answer would likely be yes.

At one point Keith’s hips started twitching, like he was holding himself back from fucking into Lance’s mouth. Though the thought was hot, Lance was incredibly grateful that Keith was restraining himself. He didn’t want his first blowjob to end by choking on dick.

When they got towards the end Keith was babbling aimlessly, switching back and forth between English and something else. Lance barely caught a word, though, because once he got into the rhythm of the action he was actually enjoying himself. His mouth was starting to hurt, and his lips were stretched wide over Keith’s member. Despite all of this, the heady weight of Keith on his tongue was sending his body into overdrive.

“Lance, oh God…” Keith cried out as Lance tasted something thick and salty shoot down his throat. Another first, Lance thought absently as he licked up all the come from Keith. In his head he always imagined it to be gross, but somehow at the moment the only thing it felt was satisfying.

With that, Lance stood up on shaky legs and gently brought Keith up to press their bodies together. Keith almost collapsed into Lance’s arms, the two of them standing as close as possible under the spray. 

The contact was like a sigh of relief after what they’d both just done, and they clutched each other tightly for minutes or hours or days until Keith whispered, “I need to wash up.”

They managed to rearrange to clean themselves up. Every time they made eye contact, though, they leaned forward and pecked each other’s lips. It didn’t matter what the other one was doing. It wasn’t a conscious decision as much as it was a primal need.

When the water turned off Keith stepped out and rifled through some cabinets, coming back to Lance with a peach colored towel and handing it to him as they both dried up.

Stepping out of the shower felt like stepping back into the real world, and Lance immediately brushed Keith’s long wet hair from his face.

“Hey, stranger,” Lance murmured, and Keith returned his comment with a smile.

“I’m not a stranger,” Keith argued.

“You’re right, what was I thinking? Anyway, this was fun, Jim. I’d love to do it again.”

Lance was whacked suddenly and unceremoniously with a towel

  
  


***

  
  


Lance watched Keith prepare their blueberry french toast in a dream-like state. It was like the world was coming in through a filter of afterglow, making each and every detail about his life better than it had been before.

“Can I call you sweetie?”

“No.”

“How about ‘my chef’? Like ‘how are you today my chef?’”

“That is probably the worst one so far.”

“Maybe I can try…”

Finally Keith cut him off, amused but also mildly annoyed. “What’s wrong with just my name? Keith is a good name.”

“Nope,” Lance hummed thoughtfully. “What about hot shot?”

Keith opened his mouth, then closed it quickly, furrowing his brow in contemplation.

“That one isn’t great, but it’s the best of what I’ve heard so far,” Keith conceded, and Lance squealed like a fifteen year old girl.

“Aw, thanks hot shot,” Lance sing-songed, watching hungrily as Keith flipped their french toast onto each of their plates and then coating them in blueberry compote that Keith had whipped up.

After a little swirl of whipped cream on top of both, Keith placed their food in front of their chairs at the counter, pressed close together even though they had the whole counter to spread out.

“This is going to be the second tastiest thing in my mouth today,” Lance moaned, but Keith already elbowed him.

“Stop pretending dicks taste good. At best they taste like skin,” Keith argued, taking his first bite of french toast and letting out a happy groan of his own.

“I will have you know that your dick tasted very good!” Lance argued just before taking his own first bite of the french toast.

After a few seconds of chewing and smiling, Lance was grinning with his eyes closed, savoring the food. “I lied. This is better.”

“Don’t underestimate my cooking skills,” Keith warned him seriously. They held up their forks and clanked them together in a mock “cheers!” to the delicious breakfast before them.

“I have to head back to Shiro’s to get my stuff for work soon,” Lance said towards the end.

The thought of Lance leaving made Keith’s chest squeeze. “You can always come back soon. I’d love to spend more time with you.”

The proposition hung between them, and they were both watching each other with tentatively hopeful gazes.

Finally, Lance muttered, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  
  


***

  
  


There was someone talking but Lance was drifting on cloud 9.

“..been like this for like twenty minutes,” a female voice said, and suddenly a strong, friendly hand was clasping Lance’s shoulder.

“Hey, buddy? Are you alright? You’ve typed the same line of data sixty times.”

That brought him back to himself. Lance pulled out of his reverie to see that Hunk was right; the data set was repeated sixty times on the spreadsheet.

“Fuck, sorry,” Lance felt his face heat up.

“It’s okay,” Katie chuckled, “You’re already way ahead of schedule on data cleaning. There’s nothing wrong with a little daydream.”

Hunk kneeled next to Lance at his desk then, brown eyes narrowed. “You ended up hanging out with Keith last night, didn’t you?”

Katie must have been sipping something, because Lance squawked when he was unexpectedly showered with an unknown liquid.

“You and Keith hung out? My baby Keef?”

Hunk and Lance both swiveled to look at her, and Lance was relieved that it was just water and not soda that she was drinking. The two best friends said “Keef?” simultaneously.

“Yeah, that’s what I call him. It drives him nuts,” Katie winked, and Lance made a note of it for later.

“Uh, yeah we were hanging out last night. It was fun,” Lance’s voice rose an octave at the end. Hunk and Katie made eye contact and smiled.

“Wait if you guys are hanging out now I want to do a group hang! Let’s get some people together and get drinks soon!”

A white hot panic gripped Lance’s chest, though. It was one thing to hook up with Keith and hang out with Keith, but was it cruel to Angela to bring him around to hang out with their friend group? Would that make him a bad person?

At his anxious expression Hunk patted Lance’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’ll be fun Lance. She’ll understand.”

In that moment Lance remembered why Hunk was his best friend. That was exactly what he needed to hear.

“Yeah, sounds great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Basketball game and group hang
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith hang out at Shiro's and cuddle. Later, Keith's fears catch up to him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!
> 
> I've been spending a lot of time working through this next arc carefully, which is why the updates are going to be a little slower for right now.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: *spoiler alert* this next arc will be looking into Keith's past relationship with Mason. There will be some sensitive topics covered, such as abuse (physical and psychological), dubious consent, PTSD, and maladaptive thoughts. I'm going to pull my *psych professional* card and remind everyone that your safety is the most important thing. If this fic starts to make you feel some type of way, please reach out to a loved one or professional. When the material starts to get heavy I will include skipping summaries on the bottom. This is for if you'd like to keep up with the story but don't think it's healthy for you to read those chapters in specific. There will also be moments where one of our characters might say or do something that perpetrates the abuse. This is done on purpose to show skewed judgment on the victim's part. It DOES NOT condone the actions taken by the abuser.
> 
> Stay safe and happy, friends<3 
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Keith was shifting from foot to foot outside of Adam and Shiro’s place, hoping that they wouldn’t ask about last night, or why Keith was practically overflowing with giddiness.

When Adam answered the door and gave him a once-over, though, all those hopes were dashed.   


“Hey babe, Keith got laid!” Adam yelled, and Keith’s jaw dropped.

“Shut up, no I didn’t! It wasn’t like sex sex,” Keith fumbled, realizing that he had only confirmed Adam’s theory about him.

“This is going to be a long night, isn’t it?” Keith asked without amusement as Adam let him in, shutting the door tight behind him.

When they got to the kitchen, Shiro was already piping the deviled egg yolk mixture. Keith smiled as he snagged one before either of them noticed. However, as soon as he took a bite Shiro growled, “There can be no forgiveness for this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Keith dismissed, and he knew that there was no way he would’ve gotten away with being discrete tonight. His good mood was practically dripping from him, was shining out of him like a halo of happy.

The three of them started setting out the rest of the prep work for the meal they were making, which was macaroni salad and sausages that Adam was readying to grill.

“You know, people can say whatever they want about living in California, but I get to grill in November without even worrying about it. I consider that a blessing.”

Keith smiled, starting in on chopping the carrots and celery.

“Katie texted me,” Shiro said then, “She’s trying to get a group together this weekend to go out drinking. She said that it was so that you and Lance could spend time with the group. Is there something you want to tell me?”

Wrinkling his nose, Keith cursed Lance’s loose lips. “It’s not anything yet, Shiro. It’s something, but we haven’t really talked about it.”

“Alright,” Shiro shrugged, “As long as you’re happy.”

That made Keith freeze up, eyeing his friend warily. “Who are you and what did you do with Shiro?”

The comment made Shiro whip around to look at Keith in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. The Shiro I know has an opinion on every life choice I make. You’ve literally pulled me from the gutter and fought to keep me safe. Now you’re okay with just saying ‘as long as you’re happy’!?!?”

It wasn’t malicious, but the older man still winced, averting his eyes back to piping the deviled eggs. “Honestly? It’s your decision. As long as you’re both safe, consenting, and healthy for each other then I’m on board.”

When Adam walked back in, Keith caught his arm as he passed.

“You husband has been replaced by an android. What do we do?”

Adam glanced over thoughtfully at Shiro. “It really depends. If he comes with that vibrating hand feature then I might just keep him.”

“What!?” Shiro yelled, dropping the pastry bag and almost hitting the eggs. “You’d just let me get replaced? For sexual pleasure!?”

Adam ran his finger through a little bit of the yolk mixture that had exploded on the counter, sucking on it and shrugging. “I’m a simple man, Takashi.”

“No sex for a week,” Shiro grumbled, and Keith just turned red and laughed hysterically.

  


***

  


Later that night the three of them were drinking beer and watching the basketball game when Lance came in the front door.

“Honey, I’m home!” He called out, and stopped short when he saw Keith on the couch.

With a smirk, Keith said kindly, “Honey is a hard pass from me. Stick with hot shot for right now.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, mullet,” Lance recovered quickly, “I wasn’t talking to you.”

The three men on the couch looked back at him in amusement. “Which one of us were you talking to?”

At that Lance’s eyes flitted back and forth between the three of them, in sudden panic. “Uh, Shiro! It was Shiro.”

Adam and Keith glanced over at Shiro, who was trying to hold him back from bursting out laughing. “Lance that’s really sweet, but I’m married. Also I used to be your professor. Also I’m way older than you. Also my husband is literally sitting right here.”

At that Adam slung an arm protectively over Shiro, throwing a suspicious stare back at Lance. “You can’t have him, Lance! Unless…” Adam smiled and snapped at a thought, “When Takashi gets replaced by an android you can have the original!”

Lance was confused, Shiro was standing up and yelling in shock, and Keith had fallen over onto the couch, clutching his stomach in hysterics.

While Shiro and Adam went into the kitchen to argue about Adam’s priorities, Lance collapsed on the couch next to Keith’s head and gently shifted it so that Keith was laughing in his lap.

“You look good like this,” Lance muttered, “Happiness suits you.”

As Lance’s fingers started carding through Keith’s hair, his stomach did somersaults. “Shut up, I’m not happy because of you.”

Snorting, Lance muttered, “Whatever you say, honey-buns!”

“That’s even worse! These are becoming ridiculous!” Keith was staring up at Lance from the other man’s lap in pure astonishment.

“Fine, whatever Keef.”

“Thanks… wait what!?!?” It took a moment for the implication to settle in. “I’m going to kill Katie.”

“No, don’t!” Lance chuckled, holding Keith down so that he didn’t blaze a war path. “It’s all in good fun, pooh bear.”

This time Keith just pretended to gag.

“Snookums?”

“I’m out of here,” Keith declared, but Lance continued to hold him down.

“No! Don’t leave me please I’ll stop!” he promised, arms tightening around Keith’s waist possessively. It made something hot and tight coil in Keith’s abdomen, and he let himself get pulled to be half sitting in Lance’s lap.

“You aren’t going to use any more pet names on me for at least the next two hours of this basketball game. You got it?”

Lance pouted. “That’s not fair!”

Adam and Shiro were back, holding chips and dips in their hands and spreading them out on the coffee table.

At that Keith turned in Lance’s hold so that his lips were right up against Lance’s ear, his voice breathy and hot as he whispered, “Go ahead and eat, sweetie pie.”

“You’re fucking cruel,” Lance whined, grabbing a chip and munching down on it. While doing so he was giving Keith the side eye of the century.

They watched the basketball game as a group of four, and Keith was surprised with how easily they were able to interact. Lance fit into their life like a puzzle piece that they didn’t even know was missing. The idea that Lance fit so well settled something inside of Keith, and he curled up in Lance’s lap with a sigh.

  


***

  


Before long it was Thursday, or as the local college kids called it, “Thirsty Thursday”. Students had a different nickname for each day of the week in the hopes that it would make their binge drinking more socially acceptable. “Sunday Fun Day” “Mixer Monday” “Tequila Tuesday” “Wine Wednesday” “Thirsty Thursday” “Frisky Friday” and “Shit-faced Saturday” were only a handful of the names that were used to justify drinking any day of the week.

Which meant that on Thirsty Thursday everyone was pregaming at Hunk’s apartment. Shiro and Adam had just come in the door with a 24-pack of beer, and the gathered group cheered happily as they passed out the alcohol to everyone in attendance.

Lance had stayed with Hunk the night before, and he watched everyone arrive with trepidation.

For the first time in his life Lance was going to a club with someone other than Angela.

He’d changed six times. Shay had sat on the guest bed with some herbal tea, giving him advice on his outfit choices and offering moral support.

Shay had eventually convinced him that he looked best in a slimming shirt and loose pants. He ended up in a cut t-shirt with neon designs on it and a pair of loose black jeans. The t-shirt was cut out in the sleeves, and the edges of the cut fell all the way to his ribs. This left most of his ribcage on either side exposed, and Shay had whispered to Lance that even she would tap that ass.

What Hunk didn’t know won’t hurt him, of course.

Or, at least, that’s what Lance thought until the two of them realized that Hunk was standing in the doorway, staring at Lance consideringly.

“Yeah, I would tap that, too.”

Shay had squealed with laughter as Lance ran over and hugged his best friend as tightly as he could.

He didn’t stop there, though. He’d moisturized his whole body, and took the time to gel his hair so that it framed his face perfectly. With his high-topped black sneakers and his winning smile he’d been ready to wow Keith all night.

Of course, though, all that effort would be for nothing if Keith never showed up.

Even Katie, who was notoriously late to every pregame, had managed to make her way to the party. Allura and Lotor were already giggling tipsily off in a corner. Shiro and Adam were laughing in their happy couple bubble.

Lance had never known what it felt like to be on the other side of that bubble. As he watched Hunk kiss Shay his stomach flipped.

He wasn’t jealous. It was more like he felt like he was “other” or separate. It was surreal to be standing in a room full of couples and not have Angela clinging to his arm and mixing his favorite drinks and flooding him with compliments.

Drunk Angela was usually extremely affectionate.

As if summoned in that moment someone walked in. Lance felt himself freeze as he took Keith in.

Keith- well, Keith looked fucking delicious.

His bright eyes locked on Lance’s immediately, and it was instantaneous how the two of them perked up at each other’s presence. There was a string connected them and it was getting shorter and shorter.

When they met in the middle they stayed a foot apart, just staring each other like they were in a trance. Keith was wearing a black crop top with a red and black flannel over it. The flannel was cuffed to his elbows, and if Lance wasn’t already painfully aware how Keith’s forearms rippled when he moved, there was no missing it now.

Lance was a forearm guy, apparently. 

Keith also had dark pants on, and Lance swore that Keith’s dark hair was calling out to him because before Lace knew it he was playing with a strand just to the left of Keith’s nose.

The other man’s nose wrinkled. “Are you having fun?”

“Yes,” Lance answered with a grin, “What took you so long?”

Lance took a step towards Keith, but was stunned to see Keith take a step back at the same time.

Had Lance done something wrong? He immediately backtracked and rubbed his left arm nervously. 

“I was meeting up with one of my friends,” Keith said with a shrug, “The pregame started at nine, Lance. You know no one will show up until ten thirty.”

Pouting, Lance poked Keith’s chest playfully. “I always arrive on time for the pregame.”

“That is one victory that I will always let you have,” Keith conceded, and there was something tender in the way that they drifted towards each other before Keith shook his head and took another step back. “I have to get a drink. I’ll be right back.”

Confused, Lance stood watching Keith’s retreating figure.

What was happening?

  


***

  


Keith didn’t have panic attacks anymore.

In fact, panic attacks stopped once Shiro and Adam and him started making dinner together and spent time together at scheduled intervals.

What Keith didn’t know was that he could feel just as alone, even with them in his life. Except instead of a moment of breathless fear it had turned into internal whirlwinds of paranoia.

It always started with a little crack, something simple that made Keith uneasy. Then it would turn into a few things that made him uneasy. Then he would be checking each nook and cranny of his psyche to see where the cracks were and which ones he could fix. 

It started while he was sitting in his kitchen pouring himself a glass of Merlot. It was the same Merlot that he had had when him and Angela slept together. Despite the unpleasant fluttering of his stomach he’d downed the glass. He was hoping that the alcohol would dull the effect that the memory had on him.

When he finished the bottle, Angela was at the forefront of his mind. Or, more accurately, how Lance and Angela weren’t together anymore.

Why did they really break up? Would it be permanent? Was Lance just using him as a rebound? Was Keith just convenient for Lance? Why would Lance choose Keith? Lance had brains and brawn and could easily snatch up fifty percent of the population of single LA without a second thought.

Why would Lance look at Keith like he was the sun rising over the horizon? Why would Lance look so spellbound around him? What made him special?

Then there were the doubts.

What if he looked at Angela this way too? What if Lance just couldn’t stand the idea of being alone, and started seeing Keith as a means of distraction and as an escape from loneliness?

So, after four glasses of wine and a few checks to make sure that all his doors were locked and counters clean he ducked out of his house.

The ride over, if anything, had been worse.

His mind was spinning with intrusive thoughts. This was the first time him and Lance would be hanging out with everyone. Angela was friends with most of them first. Would they hate Keith now? Would they see Keith as competition? Would they be secretly wishing Angela was there instead? What if they were mad at Lance for bringing someone else? Keith couldn’t be the reason that Lance was on the outs with his closest friends.

Standing outside of Hunk’s apartment was terrifying. It was more like standing on a cliff’s edge with jagged rocks below. He knew that he had to jump, but he knew that it would end badly.

Maybe he should just go home. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe Lance didn’t even like him. Maybe… maybe he just wasn’t meant to have friends like this.

A memory played in his head, then, words that he had heard enough times that he had started to believe them true.

_“No one wants you, Keith. You’re lucky that you have me otherwise you’d be all alone.”_

As those words washed over him he sighed and resigned himself to leaving.

That was, of course, before he received a text from Katie.

_K: Hey Lance looks like a lost puppy. When are you getting here?_

_“No one wants you, Keith.”_

That was wrong. Keith held in his hand proof that someone else wanted to be his friend. He wasn’t alone.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

So even with the earlier thoughts twisting his emotions in a cyclone of misery Keith let himself into the apartment.

His eyes locked onto Lance. He froze for a second, checking out Lance’s outfit and the way that his confident smile faltered to reveal something akin to relief. 

They were quickly next to each other, and Lance was transfixed by something on Keith’s face. Puzzled, Keith watched as Lance brushed a strand of his hair back.

Keith’s nose wrinkled, bemused. “Are you having fun?”

“Yes,” Lance answered with a grin, “What took you so long?”

_He just doesn’t want to be alone._

“I was meeting up with one of my friends,” Keith lied easily. If his friend was the bottle of Merlot and his internal anxiety track then yes, he was with a ‘friend’

Lance still seemed puzzled, so Keith continued, “The pregame started at nine, Lance. You know no one will show up until ten thirty.”

Pouting, Lance poked Keith’s chest playfully. It made Keith’s heart flutter. “I always arrive on time for the pregame.”

_You fucked up, Keith. No wonder no one ever wants you._

“That is one victory that I will always let you have,” Keith conceded, and there was a second that Lance was doing that thing again: staring at Keith like he was the pinnacle of perfection. It was unnerving, but with the way Keith had felt for the last few hours he instinctively wanted to reach out. He wanted to let Lance hold him, tell him that he was perfect, but… was it even real? Could Keith trust Lance’s feelings?

Keith’s thumbnail dug into his palm to keep himself from from shaking too much. “I have to get a drink. I’ll be right back.”

Lance watched him go with disappointment.

_No one wants you._

Keith remembered something about him avoiding alcohol the other day, but he needed it now. He had to make the thoughts slow down. He was supposed to be having fun. He was supposed to be happy.

This is what happiness looks like, right? Being in a room full of friends with a beautiful boy that was completely enamored by you?

_No one wants you._

Was Keith broken? Was that why he wasn’t happy?

_You’re lucky that you have me._

It was a reflex. That was the only way that Keith could explain what he did next, because otherwise it just seemed desperate. 

He took out his phone and scrolled down his contacts. He grabbed a beer and ignored Allura’s greeting in favor of excusing himself to Hunk’s bedroom to make a call. 

A smooth voice answered, and Keith felt uncertain relief flood him. 

“Hey, beautiful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses who it is?
> 
> Material will start to get heavier in the next chapter. A lot of the insecurities that Keith displays here will be explained in the coming weeks, so strap in, folks!
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics [ over here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_lady12/works)! I've got a little bit of everything. It's mostly just Klance up in here. I've got smut, fluff, smut and fluff, gender discovery parties, Keith and Hunk bonding time, Shiro and Adam closure time, and let's not forget my bread and butter: ANGST GALORE. (I also wrote for Yuri! on Ice for a while, so there's some of that, too)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has to deal with the consequences of an impulsive decision. Later, the group goes to a nightclub :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Directly continued from chapter 18.
> 
> Trigger warning******* abusive ex and panic attack
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

The voice on the other line was smooth and confident, both things which made Keith’s stomach twist. 

_“Hey, beautiful.”_

Keith swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Hey.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Eyes closing, Keith muttered, “I don’t need a reason to call you.”

There was a clucking sound on the other line. “You do, though. You’ve been jerking me around lately. If you want me, then just say it. You’ll have to make it up to me, of course. I can’t say no to you.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith muttered, tears gathering in his eyes, “I didn’t mean to fuck with you. I just feel so alone.”

There was a pause. “So I’m supposed to… what, exactly? I don’t owe you anything.”

Desperation was clawing at Keith’s throat, and he begged, “Please, I just need you. I’m freaking out.”

“About what?”

Was that genuine concern that Keith heard? Did Mason actually care about Keith’s life? It was like a fever spreading rapidly through him. The idea perked him right up, until he took a moment to remember who he was talking to.

That was when things came to a crashing halt.

Keith realized a few things in his paranoia-induced stupor, in quick succession:

  1. He couldn’t talk about Lance to his ex
  2. He was so desperate for affection that he called the one person that he shouldn’t
  3. Lance was still waiting for him in the other room



That was when things took a nosedive for the worst.

How could he call Mason? What the hell was he thinking? If Lance knew that he’d contacted his ex on their big night then Lance would hate him. He’d lose the one good thing in his life. How pathetic was he that he needed to contact his ex for reassurance? He didn’t deserve Lance, or anyone. Maybe the only person who could put up with his shit was Mason.

There was a knock then, and Keith turned and saw Lance standing in the doorway, worrying his lip with his teeth.

“I didn’t know you were on the phone,” Lance suddenly apologized, “I can wait.”

The voice on the phone dropped to a growl. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re so desperate that you called me while you were on a date with someone else?”

The words wrapped around Keith’s body and put pressure on him like a vice.

Lance’s eyes widened. “Keith? What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”

The phone fell to the floor.

Keith followed soon after, scrambling to back into a corner. Everything was pressing in around him. In a corner he was protected on two sides.

Dazed, Keith amended his earlier statement: He didn’t have panic attacks anymore... until now.

Tunnel vision took over. The intrusive thoughts became overwhelming. Keith knew something was touching him and he whimpered. The touching stopped.

That was when a familiar voice filtered through the emotional turmoil.

“Keith, I need you to work with me. You’re having a panic attack. Do you remember the grounding exercise we used to do?”

The words were slippery. Keith tried to comprehend them but they evaded his grasp.

Two hands grasped his firmly, and even though he could barely feel it the touch gave him something to focus on. It wasn’t as upsetting as the touches before had been. With this Keith could let go any time.

“Alright Keith, tell me five things you can see.”

Keith swallowed, finally focusing on what was around him. Shiro was bent over with him on the floor, holding his hands. Lance was standing a few feet back, looking shocked and concerned.

It took a second for him to gather his voice before he muttered, “I see you, and Lance. I see the bed. I see that lamp. I see my hands.”

“Four things you can touch.”

Keith’s grip on Shiro tightened. “Your hands,” Keith let go and let his hands wander to his surroundings, calling out the objects as he touched them, “the carpet, my jeans, the wall.”

“Three things you can hear.”

“The people talking in the other room. Your voice. My voice.”

“Two things you can smell.”

“Alcohol and my cologne.”

“One thing you can taste,” Shiro said quietly, handing Keith a can of beer. Keith took a tiny sip and muttered, “the beer.”

As soon as he said that the two of them seemed to deflate. Shiro rocked back on his heels, kneeling in front of Keith.

“Hey, Keith, do you want to chill in here for a little while?”

There was some sort of staticky sound that distracted Keith, and he frowned. “What’s that noise?”

Lance looked around and then saw Keith’s phone still on the ground. “Are you on the phone with someone?”

Before Keith could stop him Lance picked up the phone and looked at the screen, lips drawing into a tight frown as he brought the phone to his ear.

“Hi, this is Lance. Keith can’t talk right now, there was an emergency.”

The dial tone sounded without a response.

Lance handed the phone to Keith, who stood up on shaky legs.

“Keith, do you want to go home?” Shiro asked softly, but Keith shook his head.

“No, but… can I talk with Lance for a minute?”

Stunned, Shiro nodded and turned towards the door. “Sure thing.”

After the door closed Keith sat down on the bed, burying his head in his hands.

There was a dip in the bed as Lance sat next to him, leaving a little room for Keith to breathe. “Are you okay?”

That was a loaded question. Keith chuckled just at the implication, trying to find the words. “I need to ask you some questions that are going to seem like they’re obvious but I just need to hear it from you.”

Now he looked up at Lance, and took in the worry lines above his brow and the shining concern in his eyes. “Okay.”

“Why do you like me?”

Tilting his head to the side, Lance’s lips turned up into a grin. “Where do I even start? First of all, you’re sexy as hell and excellent in bed. Then there’s the way that you and I can talk about literally anything and make it fun. You’re passionate, and considerate, and…”

He was cut off when Keith leaned forward and kissed him, and the two of them melted into the kiss before Lance pulled back, thumb stroking Keith’s cheek. 

“What else do you need to know?”

Keith was hoping that Lance had forgot about Keith asking more questions. Alas, he had not.

Swallowing, he muttered, “Am I just a rebound?”

Lance’s mouth dropped open before he remembered that he was there to reassure. “No, Keith. The way I feel about you is different. I’ve never felt this way before. You could never be just a rebound.”

The knots of insecurities that had been tying themselves up in Keith’s brain started to loosen.

“Do your friends hate me?”

The hand on Keith’s cheek froze before resuming the calming gesture. “A lot of them are your friends, too. I can’t imagine that they’d hate you.”

His breathing was coming easier.

“Would you hate me if I said that I was on the phone with my ex?”

The question hung in the air, making Keith’s heart beat furiously against his chest.

“I saw it on the screen. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Shiro.”

Closing his eyes, he thanks his lucky stars for Lance’s ability to pick up on things. “Good. When Mason is involved Shiro tends to get a little overprotective.”

“Why did you call him, though?”

Why did he call him? It wasn’t even a fully formed decision. Keith had felt insecure and he’d wanted someone to talk to. For a long time, Mason was the one who he would call. It’s hard to unlearn that which is ingratiated into your person.

“Sometimes I get stuck in my own head. Mason… when we were together he always knew the right things to say. I think I just needed someone to calm me down.”

Lance’s hand dropped to Keith’s, squeezing it gently. “You can come to me. You know that, right? I’ve been told that I am an excellent listener,” Lance winked, bumping Keith’s shoulder playfully.

“You aren’t mad about Mason?” Keith didn’t dare to hope that he was right, but…

“Of course not. I wish you’d come to me or Shiro, but Mason is still clearly important to you. I can’t control what you do, Keith,” Lance said lightly, like it was the easiest thing in the world, like it was nothing to worry about.

The anxieties unwound violently and left Keith feeling lightheaded.

“Oh,” he sighed.

The cuban boy’s face relaxed then, too, and he suddenly looked like he did when Keith had first arrived at the party. Suddenly Keith was the sun, again.

This time Keith let himself shine.

  


***

  


When the two of them rejoined the party, Lance took a moment to entwine their fingers together. He kissed Keith’s palm lightly before he asked, “Ready?”

The gesture made Keith grumble something about Lance being “disgustingly sweet.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lance interjected confidently, walking them over to Hunk and Shay.

“Hey, dudes!” Hunk cheered, lifting up his wine glass. He was in khakis and a blue button down with his arm around Shay. She was watching the two of them thoughtfully, but it wasn’t a glare. Keith would consider that a win coming from one of Angela’s closest friends.

Katie made her way over, making obvious eyebrow raises as she glanced at their joined hands.

“We already have our token gay couple,” Katie teased, and Lance snatched her glasses off her face, holding them up so that she couldn’t reach them with her short stature. “Lance!”

“Say you’re sorry, Pidgeon. You’ve mislabeled us. We aren’t the token gay couple, we’re the token _bisexual_ couple.”

“Oh, my mistake!” Katie gasped dramatically, “Now can I have my seeing device back please?”

Lance looked over at Keith thoughtfully. “Should I?”

“That didn’t sound like an apology,” Keith told Katie with a shrug, and Hunk snorted at the sight.

“Hey, don’t take his side!” Katie fumed, “I’m sorry, okay?! I was just joking, but I won’t mislabel you in the future.”

When Lance didn’t immediately return Katie’s glasses Shay managed to snag them, handing them back to Katie with an annoyed look at Lance.

“Really, Lance? You’re supposed to be more mature. You’re older.”

“Says who?” the attractive cuban cocked an eyebrow. 

“Says the woman marrying your best friend,” Shay gathered herself to her full height, looming a solid inch above Lance, her voice deadly serious, “I can make your life a living hell if I so desire.”

An actual shiver went down Lance’s spine as he stood before his best friend’s fiance. It was eerie how quiet the group had gotten, watching the two of them with bated breath.

“Understood?” Shay commanded, and Lance nodded frantically.

Hunk came forward and patted her arm. “That’s enough, sweetie. Lance learned his lesson.”

Immediately her serious face morphed into a smile and a tinkling laugh. “Of course he did. It had to be done, love.”

Lance rolled his eyes, relaxing but needing to salvage his pride. “Yeah, but in a real fight I would have won.”

It was disheartening how quickly everyone around him dissolved into laughter.

“Hey!”

“Lance, my fiance literally goes cave-diving and mountain climbing on the weekends to find new specimens. I think the last time you lifted a weight was before you were legally allowed to drink.”

“Excuse you! That’s because…”

Keith scoffed. “You can’t use the scientist excuse, Lance. Shay is a scientist, too.”

The argument died on Lance’s tongue as he looked over at Keith with a pout. “You’re turning against me too?”

“I’m way more scared of Shay than you,” Keith shrugged. He kissed Lance’s shoulder as an apology.

There was a second in Lance’s mind where everything slowed to a screeching halt. He did a mental report of everyone who was in the group and what they might think of Keith’s PDA. Lance wouldn’t deny Keith anything after having gone through such a serious panic attack, so he waited for the inevitable fallout.

He waited…

...and waited…

...and the conversation continued to swirl around him without a hitch.

Shay was watching the two of them thoughtfully, and Katie made a gagging motion that was characteristic of her whenever she saw any couples display affection, but nothing bad happened

It was strange, almost like it was normal for everyone else.

Lance’s relief was small but potent, and he squeezed Keith’s hand and rested his forehead on the other man’s shoulder for a second.

“You okay?” Keith asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Lance looked up into Keith’s worried eyes. Between the two of them was a comfortable affection, one that was fueling Lance’s relief into something warm and fuzzy, “I am.”

  


***

  


At eleven thirty the group started to move slowly but surely out of the apartment and towards the bars. The plan was to hit up one with a dance floor, and Lance’s personal favorite was apparently only a short walk away.

Shiro caught up with the two of them, and Lance excused himself to go talk with Hunk.

Keith knew what was coming, and he looked over at Shiro and bit his lip. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I know,” Shiro surprised Keith with that response, and Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Who the fuck are you and what did you do with Shiro?”

There was a gentle punch to Keith’s shoulder, but Keith maintained his suspicious side eye.

“Listen, Keith, I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I think it’s time that I started trusting you again.”

The words were foreign. It had been years since Shiro had given him that trust, and Keith didn’t know how to react.

Shiro smiled at him sadly. “That’s all I needed to say”

Shiro fell back in the group to walk with Adam again, and Keith saw that Lance and Hunk were hysterically laughing at something up ahead.

Someone did come to fill in the void that Shiro left, and it wasn’t who he expected it to be.

Allura was smiling at him. She was dressed in a gorgeous pair of leather leggings and tight blue crop top. Her eyes were stunning as they slid over Keith’s figure.

“Hey,” Keith said with uncertainty. He dug through his memories and tried to pull up a moment when just him and Allura talked, and he came up blank. They’d interacted in groups at parties, but Allura was Adam and Shiro’s friend.

“Hey yourself.”

Her slight British accent became more pronounced after she’d had a few drinks, and Keith felt himself wondering why he’d never asked why that was. He knew that her father worked out of LA and had been for years. Why would she have an accent?

“I wanted to say that I’m happy for you. If Lance makes you happy then you deserve to let yourself be with him.”

A flash of something danced across Keith’s memory. Wait, they had been alone together once. It wasn’t even that long ago, Keith thought with a wince. Keith had been sitting on Shiro’s living room couch with a blanket pulled tight around him. Shiro was talking with a police officer and Adam was on the phone desperately trying to contact the local magistrate to file for an emergency protective order.

Allura had raced in the back door and went immediately to Keith’s side. 

Keith must have thought the same thing then as he did now. He must have wondered if Allura and him ever spoke one on one.

She didn’t say much back then. That was probably why the memory hadn’t been called to mind originally. Instead she fluttered around him anxiously, replacing an ice pack and making him hot cocoa. When the officer came over to Keith, he remembered that Allura had put her hand on his thigh in a show of support.

Now Keith was staring at Allura with a new perspective. He’d always just thought of her as a presence in the background of his life, but… she cared about him. Maybe Keith wasn’t as alone as he thought.

Which is why Keith found himself answering her honestly. “We aren’t technically anything yet. We’re still figuring it out.”

Allura chuckled, glancing backwards at where Lotor was having a lively debate with with a few of Shay’s friends. “We’ve been figuring it out for a few months. That doesn’t make what we have between us any less real, though.”

That moment was when Lance fell back into step with Keith, snaking his arm around his waist so that they were close together as they walked. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing!” Allura responded with a wink, “Carry on.”

She fell back into step with Lotor as they approached… what even were they approaching?

It was a tiny mudroom with a refrigerator pressed against the wall. There was a bouncer sitting in front of the fridge door with a scanner and a bored expression.

Lance was walking towards the tiny mudroom purposefully.

“Uh, Lance? What is this place?”

Looking back at Keith, he threw a wicked smile. “Just follow me.”

The bouncer scanned their licenses and then they were just standing in the mud room just off the sidewalk, the rest of their party gathered in a group behind them.

Then the bouncer opened the fridge door.

“Holy shit,” Keith gaped as Lance led him through the door and towards the staircase hidden behind it. Music was flooding down the stairway and bright lights were illuminating the floor above them.

“Holy shit indeed,” Lance’s voice got lost in the loud music, but Keith could read his lips well enough.

When they got into the bar, Keith was completely stunned.

It was a classic speakeasy theme, complete with bartenders in flapper dresses and black and white newspaper clippings lining the walls. There were dozens of wingback chairs, and the chandeliers fell decadently from the ceiling right next to the flashing lights for the dance floor.

Which the dance floor was _wild._

The DJ was dressed up as well in a leisure suit and top hat, sipping his martini and coordinating the music. People were moving insanely quickly and purposefully, a few of them clearly experienced dancers. Quite a few of them had feather headbands on or long string necklaces that helped them blend into the bar’s atmosphere seamlessly.

Lance immediately pulled Keith towards the bar, where he was presented with a long list of theme drinks.

After some deliberation Lance ordered himself a “Hemingway Special”, and Keith ordered a “Bee’s Knees”, which he’d never heard of but was interested to see what it would come out as.

As they waited for their drinks, Lance was leaning against the bar, surveying the room around them with thinly veiled excitement. “I haven’t been here in a while,” he admitted, and Keith found himself coming forward to stand just before Lance, putting his hands on the bar on either side of the other man. Keith was effectively caging Lance in, and Lance looked flustered suddenly.

“Don’t you want to take it all in?” he stammered.

Keith shook his head, leaning farther into Lance’s space. “I’m way more interested in looking at you.”

The other man blushed, his lips parting slightly as he inhaled sharply.

“We just got to the bar and you’re already making me want to take you home,” Lance said softly, almost too softly to hear over the music.

Keith shook his head. “No way. You can’t show me this awesome bar and then make me leave. We’re going to enjoy our time here,” Keith leaned closer and his hot breath ghosted over Lance’s ear, “we’re going to really enjoy it.”

Shivering, Lance’s hand fell to Keith’s chest, not pushing him away exactly but keeping him from advancing further.

“You’re evil,” the blue-eyed man concluded.

“Maybe,” Keith shrugged, “but you love it.”

The power that Keith had over Lance was unreal. Lance was loud and passionate and goofy, but when it came to matters of the body, specifically his sex life, Lance was as submissive as they come.

It was quite a high to overwhelm Lance. 

Keith continued to lean forwards despite Lance’s hand holding him back. It wasn’t putting up much of a fight. Keith would never cross any boundaries without permission, though. He leaned closer without touching.

“I think that you love how evil I am. I think that you dream about me being rough with you,” Keith soothed his voice down to honey, listening to Lance’s breathing as it sped up. “I can’t wait to fuck you again. I want you whimpering and desperate beneath me while I take you apart.”

That last part made Lance squeak, shouting, “Evil! Very evil!!!”

Katie came up next to them. “Who is evil?”

“Keith,” Lance pointed at the man currently caging Lance in, “He wants to be an asshole.”

Clearing her throat, Katie said, “I think you meant to say ‘wants to be in an asshole’, Lance. You’ve got to work on your word order.”

That made Lance squeak even higher, to the point that Keith wondered if Lance had a squeak that only dogs could hear. 

Their drinks arrived and Lance was saved when he grabbed his own and disappeared back towards the lounge with Keith in tow.

“Evil,” Lance reminded him as they approached their group of friends spread out along a fainting couch and perched on some large whisky barrels.

When they got back to the group, Lance started talking with Shay’s friends. He knew some of them previously, and a few of them were going to be bridesmaids. 

“I’m going to be seeing them a lot in the next year and a half,” Lance had told Keith quietly when they walked over, “I want to make sure we get along.”

However, Keith wasn’t the one who needed to make nice, Lance was. Instead, Keith sat off to the side a bit, watching Lance tell a story and make huge hand gestures in his excitement.

How was Keith supposed to pass the time?

  


***

  


“There I was with a bottle of tequila down my pants and my drunken girlfriend propped up between Hunk and me. She was incoherent enough that I would consider it a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ moment…”

During one of Lance’s favorite drunk adventure stories, the poor boy had made the mistake of looking over at Keith.

Keith, who had his golden “Bee’s Knees” drink close to his mouth, his tongue circling the straw in a way that made Lance’s own knees weak.

He tried to salvage his retelling of the story, pointedly avoiding eye contact with Keith. “The cop actually twitched as we tried to pretend like we weren't drunk out of our minds. Then he said that we should never go into acting, and drove our three assess back to our dorms.”

Alright, now that the story was over he couldn’t help himself.

Keith wasn’t sitting anymore. His drink was finished, and Lance found himself whirling around and trying to find…

...a mistake. Trying to find Keith was a mistake.

It was a mistake because Keith was on the edge of the dance floor, moving his hips so sinfully that Lance swore he was going to hell from just looking at it. Keith’s hand was running through his hair as his other hand trailed lazily down the front of his shirt, then skirting over the bare skin of his abdomen.

Lance couldn’t even swallow. He was frozen solid, and he knew someone was trying to get his attention but he couldn’t even think to look away. The thought of missing a second of Keith’s show was ludicrous.

Objectively, Lance knew that Keith was only an okay dancer. It didn’t seem to matter, though. Keith timed his movements with the music, his eyes heavily hooded as he mouthed the lyrics and made Lance’s hands ache to touch him.

He felt a foot as it gently nudged him in Keith’s direction. Turning quickly, he saw that it was one of the bridesmaids. “He’s waiting for you! Get out there!”

_He’s waiting for you._

He was. Keith had finally noticed Lance watching him and licked his lips sinfully, mimicking a ‘come hither’ gesture. His hair was now a little sweaty and was slicked back, his flannel open enough that Lance could see the muscles of his abdomen flex and clench as Keith’s hips moved to the music.

The second that Lance got to Keith he didn’t even hesitate. His body knew what he needed to do, so he just followed its lead.

Lance’s fingers tangled into Keith’s hair as he immediately came right up into Keith’s space and pressed their lips together.

There was a sigh of relief from both of them. Keith’s arms wound around Lance’s waist, pulling him in closer as they slotted their mouths to open them and bring their tongues into the kiss.

Even though Lance initiated it, Keith quickly took control. Lance found himself melting into it, happy to follow Keith’s lead.

Then Keith’s hands on his waist gestured them farther into the dance floor, so dark and tight that Lance was very quickly chest to chest with Keith. They continued swaying, and Lance’s crotch pressed against Keith’s started to kindle desperation between them.

When Lance started to feel himself harden, he put his hand on Keith’s chest. “I’m… we need to cool it down,” Lance said. They were close enough that Keith heard it even though the music was deafening.

Shaking his head, Keith took Lance’s hand in his own, lowering it slowly until it was touching the growing bulge in Keith’s tight jeans. “What if I don’t want to?”

Lance’s mind was whiting out. Keith was unreal. Every touch set him aflame and every word made Lance want to pin Keith to the nearest surface and kiss him senseless. Even though he knew what he was doing wasn’t appropriate, his hand on Keith’s hardening member started to gently massage.

The sound Keith made was part whimper and part possessive growl, a combination that Lance would never be able to replicate. It made Lance’s hands start to shake, a myriad of emotions tumbling hotly through his body.

The rest of the world didn’t matter. It had narrowed down to just Keith and Lance. Their sweaty foreheads came together, and Lance was starting to work Keith’s button on his pants when Keith seemed to have the foresight to get them out of the public eye.

When Keith started pulling Lance towards the back of the bar, the other boy felt like he’d just awoken from a trance, following Keith obediently but also without remembering exactly why they were leaving in the first place. That was, of course, until Keith found a small maintenance closet and shoved Lance inside, locking the door behind them as they were plunged into near perfect darkness.

It didn’t matter, though. Lance suddenly remembered what he wanted with a fervor. His hands came back down to trail down the flat plane of Keith’s stomach before reaching his jeans, and quickly undoing the button and zipper and pulling Keith out of his pants.

The feeling of Keith’s hot flesh resting in his hand made him shiver. When he gently stroked it, Keith gasped at the sensation, briefly freezing in his own attempts to get Lance out of his pants.

Once Keith was able to get his focus back, the two of them were pressed close together in the dark, breath hot on each other’s cheeks as they jerked each other off. The angle was odd but Lance couldn’t care less. It was an addiction, this high from being so close and so entwined. Lance didn’t just want to get Keith off, he wanted to be completely entangled with Keith.

It was so warm and both of them started grunting from the exertion of the odd angle and the way their muscles screamed at them for not thinking this all the way through but neither of them could be bothered to care. They were chasing this high together, bodies doing everything possible to get as close as possible.

Of course, Lance was stunned when Keith started quietly screaming with each breath, something animalistic and jarring. Then quickly afterwards to silence himself he bit down on his own flannel.

It wasn’t too long after that that Keith was coming, and he coaxed Lance through his orgasm as well, until they were leaning unsteadily against each other.

“That was so hot,” Lance moaned, and Keith’s chest shook against Lance’s with laughter.

“That’s an understatement.”

Lance couldn’t help himself from the afterglow. He pressed a kiss to Keith’s neck, then to his jaw, and then to his lips. Their foreheads bowed together as they caught their breath, and Keith ended up nuzzling closer to Lance unconsciously. He was humming in contentment.

After a few moments Keith shifted uncomfortably. “We did not think this through,” he whispered hoarsely, and Lance felt the sticky substance drying on his own hand.

“Yeah, we fucked up big time.”

“Oh yeah.”

“I don’t even know what we look like, dude! If we head back into the bar everyone will know,” Lance fretted, biting his lip.

The dim lighting shone against each of their faces, flickering from the passerby, and Keith took Lance’s hand. “I don’t care.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me,” Keith responded defiantly. “Today has been hell, and somehow despite all of that we still managed to turn it into something sexy. I want people to know that I just got you off back here. I want to strut you around and let people know that you’re mine, tonight.”

_Mine._

The word burned Lance’s stomach with a new wave of desire, and Lance wondered distantly if he knew what he was getting into?

When Keith kissed him again, though, he found that he didn’t care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Keith forgets about his drunken conversation with Mason. Mason does not.
> 
> If you think this little bar is cool, it's loosely based off a real bar that I went to in LA! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/good-times-at-davey-waynes-los-angeles
> 
> Also, just a warning: this arc will last a few more chapters, and does continue to focus on Keith's relationship with his ex. If anyone feels that they need a skipping summary for any chapter because it's too much for them, let me know and I'll write one up for you<3


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is surprised by an unwelcome house guest. Lance worries when Keith won't text him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy folks
> 
> I have, in fact, been resurrected. As you could probably guess the posting schedule of this fic has slowed down a bit- I don't think there will be another month long hiatus, though. I had a whole bunch of new job stuff and I'm in a friend's wedding so my life was just crazy for a few weeks.
> 
> ****WARNING: This chapter is going to be rough. There will be some incorrect and maladaptive thoughts due to previous abuse (from Keith). This is my official disclaimer that I recognize that some of what Keith thinks isn't healthy.   
>  It might be difficult for some of you to get through. Please keep an eye on your emotions. If you start to feel some type of way, please reach out to a loved one and/or a professional. You aren't alone, and this story will be waiting for you when you're ready to come back.
> 
> As always, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

When Keith got home from going out to the club, he closed his front door and leaned against it, feeling lighter than he had in a long time.

He’d had fun while he was out with the group, but more than that… Lance had made him feel wanted. Lance had stayed even after he saw Keith’s little slice of crazy. Lance was on his mind, and it was driving him crazy at the same time that it was helping him soar.

Lance had gone home because he had breakfast plans with Hunk the next day, but Keith could still feel Lance’s lips on his earlobe as he whispered good-bye.

Was this what love was supposed to feel like?

That thought stopped his happy floating in its tracks, grounding him back to earth as he hugged himself against the door. The alcohol in his system was making his emotions sway wildly without any ability to keep himself steady. 

The crashing was always the worst part, Keith thought. With every good things that happened to him, there was always inevitably the fallout. There was the reality check, the reminder that even if things were incredible, it would never be able to keep him going for long.

So he closed his eyes, counted to ten, and went to his room to sleep.

  
  


***

  
  


The next morning Keith rolled out of bed and yawned, stretching in his loose sweatpants and grumbling about the nasty hangover taste in his mouth. He showered and brushed his teeth, braiding his hair back to keep it out of his face. This morning he was planning on making breakfast and then prepping food for the rest of the week.

One of the fashion campaigns that he was a part of called him in for a shoot on Monday, so he had to be careful about eating for the next few days.

Keith threw on his apron and some alternative rock, jamming out to AJR while he took his ingredients out of the fridge.

There was a cathartic peace to cooking. For Keith, it was a retreat from his everyday life. The smooth staccato of the knife chopping vegetables, the aroma of savory food simmering on the stovetop, the careful coordination of ingredients being added at just the right times to create something delicious.

He made some chicken and quinoa bowls with chopped peppers and tomatoes, a few salmon over brown rice dishes with broccolini, and finally two overnight oats mason jars for a quick breakfast.

After all of that was done, he refrigerated all of his meals and started in on making his omelette.

Twenty-one pilots was just finishing up their number when a knock came at Keith’s door.

He hummed as he slid the omelette onto a plate, floating in his introverted cooking space for a few more seconds before shedding his apron and shuffling towards the door, pulling it open.

Bright green eyes were watching him with interest as his whole world slowed to a stop.

Shiro’s voice was nagging in the back of his head.  _ What’s the point of changing the passwords and locks if you’ll just open your front door without checking who it is, first? _

“Hey, beautiful,” Mason’s toothy grin made Keith’s chest tighten. He had been so ensconced in his cooking that he’d forgotten that he had called Mason the night before. Actually, correction: he was so distracted by Lance to remember that he had called Mason the night before.

The proper thing to do would be for Keith to open the door further and let Mason in, but instead he kept the door just barely propped with him in the doorway. “What do you want?”

“You called me last night,” his voice was smooth and sweet, and without intending to Keith was lulled into a false sense of security. “I was really worried, Keith.”

That voice… that voice was the one he used to say “I love you.” It was the voice that whispered sweet nothings into his ear. It was the voice that felt like coming home.

Except, he already was home. In their home.

_ No. It’s your home, Keith,  _ his internal Shiro voice reminded him.

Still, like a bad habit he stepped back. Like an even worse habit, he let Mason kiss his cheek as he passed. Then without making the conscious decision he closed the door.

Have you ever been in the dark? Or, rather, have you ever been in complete and total darkness? The kind of darkness that makes you assume that you were blind? The kind of darkness that makes you want to close your eyes and wish for sunshine?

There’s a distinct feeling when you’re in a place that dark, and it only intensifies if you hear a noise. At that point the fear comes from knowing that someone is in the dark with you, but not knowing where they are, what they’ll do, or if they are friend or foe. So you’re left paralyzed and pliant, doing anything so as not to anger the mysterious interloper.

Even though Keith could see perfectly fine, by letting Mason in he’d descended into darkness.

Mason walked in the entryway, taking note of the missing vase by touching the accent table and tapping it twice. He then walked upstairs towards the kitchen, and Keith felt himself following.

It felt like an inspection. Keith found himself wondering if he’d cleaned up his dishes, and if he’d wiped down the counter. He found himself questioning when he had last dusted. He found himself wondering if there was something in the kitchen that Mason could pick apart.

Once he was on the upper floor and staring at the large pile of dishes in and next to the sink as well as two old mugs by the coffee maker his pulse jumped.

When Mason turned towards the counter and saw the omelette, Keith suddenly was nauseous. The omelette looked disgusting to him, now.

Then Mason looked back at him, and he wasn’t angry. No, in fact he looked happy. The buzz of adrenaline was singing in his veins as Mason smiled. “Why are you so nervous? I’m happy for you. It looks like you’re doing really well for yourself.”

Keith relaxed as he internally chastised himself. Why did he always assume things would end badly with Mason? Why was he being so overdramatic? Mason had been a good boyfriend most of the time, right?

“Thanks,” Keith responded, finally meeting Mason’s eyes. “I’m sorry that I worried you.”

At that Mason’s face melted into a smile, and Keith felt his fears melt away. He walked closer, maintaining a foot of distance between them. It was eerily measured, as if Mason was performing a script.

_ No, that’s silly, Keith. _

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. First you call me saying that you felt alone, and then another guy tells me that you couldn’t talk? It made me crazy. It made me wonder if someone was taking advantage of you, or if someone had hurt you. I couldn’t sleep.”

Guilt was pooling in his stomach, and at the same time his internal Shiro voice said,  _ he doesn’t look like he couldn’t sleep. _

In fact, the way Mason’s his dark curls fell and the way his calm face was free of any bags, bruises, or blemishes led Keith to believe that this might not be true.

Except… Keith was always doubting Mason, wasn’t he? Keith needed to cut him some slack.

“I was fine. Just tipsy and being an idiot,” Keith muttered, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

Why was he being so defensive? He needed to lighten up.

Mason nodded, fingertips coming up slowly. Keith had plenty of time to back away. Alarm bells were going off in his brain for him to back away, to run from the house, to call Shiro, to call anyone, but… that’s not what Keith did.

Instead he let Mason brush a stray hair from his face, one that had fallen from the braid.

Instead he let Mason come closer and twist him forcefully against the counter, caging Keith in.

When Mason went to kiss him, Keith thought only of Lance’s face, or the way Lance set his body on fire, or… the way that Mason never set him on fire. Not like that.

Keith got a grip and pushed Mason off of him, but that was the wrong thing to do, because Mason touched his own chest in shock as he stumbled back. His face fell into betrayal.

“What the hell, Keith?” Mason yelled, face turning red, “First you worry the hell out of me, then you send me signals that touching you is okay, and then you fucking push me? What kind of asshole are you?”

The words were whip sharp and cut Keith to his core, making him want to rush to apologize.

“I’m sorry,” Keith whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

The tears made Mason’s expression turn flat, and he came towards Keith again, this time keeping the same foot of distance between them. This time it felt like no distance at all. This time it felt like Mason was right on top of him, ready to crawl under Keith’s skin at any moment.

“You don’t get to cry after treating me like some sort of dick,” Mason’s voice was calm and measured, but his eyes… his eyes were shining with rage.

Keith was a butterfly in a net, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“I just came over here to check on you, and you fucking treat me like this? You fucked up, Keith. You fucked up big time. I don’t deserve this. I treated you like a fucking prince while we were dating. I cooked your food, I drove you around, I made love to you whenever you wanted. You don’t get to treat me like this.”

An image flashed in Keith’s mind. An image of being thrown against the edge of the tub and having bruises bloom on his back. Mason had made love to him in the bathroom while the bruises he inflicted were still forming. He just liked to be rough sometimes. Mason liked to be rough.

Keith liked it rough, didn’t he?

Just like the habit of opening the door had kicked in, in this moment Keith felt the habit of wiping away his tears kick in. His body was moving of its own accord, a practiced dance, a choreographed number.

His hand came up to press on Mason’s chest lightly. “I’m sorry.”

“Damn right you are,” Mason growled, “How are you going to make it up to me?”

The words were cold water running down his spine. “We aren’t together anymore, Mason. I’m not having sex with you.”

When Mason straightened up, he was almost an inch taller, looking down at Keith from above and making Keith feel so fucking small. “Why not? What, do you think this new guy cares about you?”

The feelings from last night flooded back without anything stopping them. Keith’s breath caught as dread closed in around him.

“Seriously, babe, you know that he’s just using you to get to your fine ass. No one could love you the way I did. You’re messed up and broken. Not everyone can handle you, but I can. You know that I can handle you. You’ll never have it better than when you’re with me.”

The statement was in the present tense, and Keith let out the last of the fight he had in him.

“Let me go, Mason,” Keith murmured, body tensing for retaliation.

“I don’t think you want that, Keith,” Mason was looming closer above him, caging him into the counter again. Keith couldn’t push him away again. Keith knew that things would only get worse. “I think you called me last night because you miss me. I think that you’re just too afraid to admit it in person.”

“I…” Keith froze, internally warring with himself.

_ Yes no yes no maybe I don’t know I miss his touch I miss him I need him NO NO NO I can’t let him back in what if he’s right I’m sorry Lance. _

Lance wouldn’t care anyway, would he? Mason was right. Lance didn’t want to be with him. Lance had just used Keith to figure out his sexuality. He was just Lance’s plaything.

Mason was the only one that ever loved him like this.

This was why Keith didn’t push Mason away when he leaned in to kiss him.

This is why Keith fell to his knees with tears in his eyes, knowing that he needed to make up for what he did.

This is why he let Mason fuck into his mouth and tangle his fingers in Keith’s hair as Keith willed it to be over, just wanted Mason to forgive him so that they could go back to how happy Mason had been when he got here. Keith knew it would get better. It wasn’t always bad. He just had to make it up to Mason, and everything would be fine.

This is why Keith let Mason pick him up and shower him with kisses.

This is why Keith let Mason draw him a bath and rub soothingly on the bruises forming on his hip bones from being slammed into the counter.

This is why Mason made Keith tea to soothe his hoarse and aching throat.

This is why Keith accepted it with a grateful kiss.

This is why Keith hid the paper towel that he coughed into, seeing blood. He didn’t want to make Mason mad again.

This is how Keith ended up in his own bed with Mason’s arm slung over his chest possessively, staring up at the ceiling in terror as the man next to him rested peacefully.

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was standing outside of Keith’s house, fidgeting nervously with his phone.

Keith hadn’t responded to any texts that day. Keith wasn’t the world’s greatest texter, but since their date the other day they’d been communicating pretty constantly. Even when there wasn’t anything to say, Keith had taken to sending Lance memes that they would both laugh at.

The whole estate was quiet, his front lawn perfectly trimmed and car safely parked in the driveway. It was after work for Lance, and he was holding two to-go milkshakes from the place they’d gone the other night. Internally, he was debating if dropping by unannounced would be okay. Technically he had texted Keith that he was going to come over, but Keith hadn’t responded. Lance couldn’t be sure that he got the message.

Then Lance thought of last night, of the way they had moved and danced and kissed and… they say that if you’re addicted to something, all rational thought goes out the window. Well, Lance was addicted to Keith, which is what helped him gather up his courage and head up the walkway to Keith’s front door.

He rang the doorbell and shuffled from foot to foot, feeling like more of an idiot each passing second.

Then relief flooded his system as the white door opened, and he was about to explain that Lance had been worried about Keith when he was met with the face of Keith’s ex, Mason.

The words died on his tongue. He started to choke on them.

“Ah, you must be Keith’s flavor of the month. Or, week, right? You know how Keith gets. Throw him a few drinks and he hops right into bed.”

His voice was honey-smooth and reassured. There was no room for argument or questioning, and Lance felt himself bristle. How could such callous words be so casual?

Lance’s hands were shaking, the condensation on the milkshake cups running down his fists as he willed them not to punch. “Why are you here, Mason?”

“Wow, I thought it was obvious,” Mason clucked his tongue, looking down on Lance like he was explaining something to a toddler. “You were just a phase, Lance. Keith always runs off and hoes around for a while, but he will always come back to me.”

The words didn’t ring true. Lance’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s Keith, Mason?”

“Who is at the door?” a scratchy voice came from farther into the house, and Keith came from the hallway towards the front door.

Lance did a quick inventory. Keith didn’t look hurt. He looked surprised to see Lance, and when he got to Mason’s side the other man curled his arm possessively around Keith’s waist.

Glancing between the two of them for a second Lance started to doubt. Maybe he was wrong? Keith might honestly wanted to get back together with Mason. 

However, there was something in the way that Keith watched him that made alarm bells go off in his head.

So, finally, he held up the milkshake to Keith. Mason took it from Lance’s hand, souring Lance’s gesture. “I got it from that place we went to. I hadn’t heard from you today so I thought I’d check on you.”

There was a silent question in the statement, and he hoped that Keith heard it.

Keith swallowed before he answered, voice hoarse, “I was spending the day in. I don’t keep my phone on me all the time.”

Lance winced at the dismissal. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll be going. See you around, Keith.”

It was then, in the split second that Keith realized that Lance was leaving: Keith’s face, for a moment, descended into unfiltered and unmistakable fear.

Swallowing, Lance waved and walked to his car.

  
  


***

  
  


When the door closed, Mason’s grip on Keith’s wrist was tight.

“He’s a fucking creep,” Mason muttered, starting to tug Keith away from the door and back towards the kitchen. Mason had whipped up brownies with oreos in them, and the two of them had been indulging.

_ It isn’t always bad it isn’t always bad it isn’t always bad. _

Keith sat down and glanced at his half finished brownie. When they were together, Mason always made Keith’s food. He did everything for Keith. Keith should be grateful.

Shiro’s voice in his head argued.  _ He does those things so he has leverage to control you, Keith. You know this. Don’t let him back in. _

Keith hadn’t wanted to let him back in. Mason had taken him by surprise, and there was nothing Keith could do but try to keep their interactions as smooth as possible.

Eventually Mason would fall asleep and not touch Keith while he was doing so. Eventually he would be in the bathroom longer than a few seconds. Eventually he had to go out for something.

Eventually Keith would get away.

He couldn’t afford to think like that, though, right? He was in survival mode.

So he plastered a smile on his face and took another bite of the brownie.

Hands brushed Keith’s arm, running up and down them thoughtfully. Keith could say a lot about Mason, but he was always an attentive lover. He would map out all of Keith, every divot and crevice and freckle. Keith couldn’t hide anything from Mason.

It was then that Keith saw his phone, though, lighting up with a call. His phone had been locked in their wine cabinet, and through the glass he could see Lance’s name lighting up the screen.

The vibrations caught Mason’s attention, though, and Keith’s stomach twisted as Mason looked between who was calling and Keith’s distracted expression.

“Don’t you dare think about him. He’s not here, is he?” Mason hissed, and where Mason had been mapping Keith’s arms with fingers and kisses teeth suddenly made an appearance and bit down hard on the inside of Keith’s forearm.

The pain was unbelievable, and Keith whimpered as a reflex.

“Don’t be so fucking overdramatic,” Mason muttered, kissing the spot better, “You always love when I bite you during sex.”

Shiro’s internal voice whispered to him again:  _ he’s trying to manipulate you with your own behavior. He extends abusive acts from small stuff you like to big stuff you don’t in order to keep you from arguing with him when he acts this way. _

Except Keith couldn’t think of that now. Instead he shook as he took another bite of brownie, the irritated red and purple skin of his forearm burning.

His phone stopped vibrating.

White hot panic shot through him when it started vibrating again.

“Are you fucking serious?” Mason got up and went over to the wine cabinet, unlocking it and taking Keith’s phone out. He came back over to Keith, face smoothing out. He suddenly looked rational instead of angry. “It’s Shiro. Just tell him that you’re okay, alright? You know how much I hate this guy.”

Swallowing, Keith nodded and took the phone from Mason, putting it to his ear.

“Hello?”

It was quiet for a second on the other line before Shiro asked, “Keith? Are you alright? Lance is here and he said that Mason was at the house.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed. “Put it on speaker.”

Keith did and placed the phone on the counter. “He is. We’re just spending some time together.”

“Are you okay?”

The words fell to the ground heavily, useless for Keith right now.

He had to be careful, of course. What he said next could make a monumental difference in how the next few hours would go. If Shiro came over here, Mason would hurt him again. Keith was the only one who could keep Mason calm. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Shiro.

It was paramount that Keith convince Shiro that everything was okay.

“I’m okay, Shiro. You don’t have to worry about me. We’ve just been talking it out and eating brownies. Nothing weird is going on.”

Holding his breath, Keith wished that Shiro would just buy it.

There was another pause before Shiro audibly sighed. “Okay. Text me if you need anything.”

He emphasized the “anything” before hanging up.

Disappointment flooded through him. He had wanted to convince Shiro, but in doing so he’d lost his best chance of escape. It was a hollow victory.

Now they were walking down to the den. It was the room without windows, the one that Mason loved. No one could see what they were up to in there, just the way he liked. 

Memories from the room were coming back. Memories that came unbidden back into Keith’s mind as Mason’s tight grip on his arm brought him closer to the couch.

They’d had sex all over the place in here. Mason had handcuffed him to that piece of furniture, and had broken two tvs. The one currently in there was new. He bought it more recently. After two tvs Keith gave up on keeping one to spare his wallet more strife.

There was this mental space that Keith had when he was with Mason. It was a safe box where he packed up all of his negative emotions, leaving him empty so that he never did anything to anger Mason. It was a blank space, a safe space, and one that Keith had a hard time coming out of.

After they broke up, it had taken weeks before Keith had wandered out from that space. Then the emotions came out. Then the processing began. Then the healing had started.

As he was pulled down on the couch and the tv was flicked to a new comedy, Keith prayed that Shiro would forgive him.

He entered that space. The fight and energy drained from him. His limbs loosened up so that Mason could maneuver him how he wanted.

Then Mason kissed him on the top of the head and brought Keith’s legs across his lap. He breathed in Keith’s scent. “I missed this.”

“I did, too,” Keith responded, robotic and practiced. 

Time slipped silkily between his fingers. He wasn’t sure how late it was, and he wasn’t even watching the tv show. He had fallen back into memories to keep him sane, but these were different memories.

Memories of Lance falling asleep in his arms.

Memories of their bodies coming so close but not touching.

Memories of two crystal blue eyes watching him with hunger.

Memories of falling back into Lance’s embrace as he orgasmed, because Lance’s touch had done more for him than Angela’s body had ever done.

Maybe, Keith thought distantly as Mason’s fingers started to run up Keith’s legs, Lance was his new safe space.

He thought that as the doorbell rang.

The man above him froze in his ministrations and furrowed his brow. “Did you have plans tonight?”

Keith shook his head.

“It’s almost eleven, who could be at the door?”

“I don’t know. I can go check?”

“No, you don’t have to get up. I’ll get it,” he pressed a warning kiss to Keith’s cheek as he started walking towards the door.

He closed the door of the den behind him.

It felt like a cage door swinging shut.

There were voices, then. Familiar voices, but it didn’t really make much sense.

Then someone opened the door to the den. It was Mason, but something was wrong. He was wearing his controlled anger face, the one that appeared innocuous at first but was really a warning to Keith that he would go off once they were alone.

His voice was falsely sweet. “You didn’t tell me you were having a party tonight, Keith.”

The words stopped Keith short, making absolutely no sense.

“Yeah, Keith!” a female voice cheered from nearby, “How could you forget?”

Was that Allura’s voice?

Keith stood up and walked towards the doorway, Mason’s glare boring into him. 

Outside in his hallway was a whole squadron of people. Allura and Lotor were the ones closest to the door, but they were closely followed by Hunk and Shay, as well as Shiro, Adam, and finally Lance, who was standing furthest back. All of them were looking at Keith innocently, but Keith was frozen. 

Mason was going to blow up once they were alone. Or worse, he would hurt one of his friends. Keith was just starting to make friends again. Keith had been building a life for himself, and now… if Mason ruined this for him he’d have no one else to go to.

It would be just like the years of their relationship, when it had just been the two of them against the world.

Keith couldn’t speak as all these fears twisted around inside his head.

Lotor was the first to reach forward and hold his hand out to Mason. “It’s good to meet you,” his British accent was sharp, and Keith noticed the way Lotor’s smile slipped for a second as Mason took the handshake. 

Mason’s other hand grabbed onto Keith crushingly tight.

Hunk chimed in then. “Yeah, we’ve heard a lot about you! We brought some beer. Let’s go upstairs and get to know each other.”

Something was off about this. There was something Keith was missing. 

The whole group started to march up the stairs, and Hunk was left standing next to two 36 packs of beer. “Would you mind giving me a hand with these, bro?”

Mason’s grip on Keith’s hands tightened. “No, I think I’m good.”

Not even pausing for a second, Hunk threw his best puppy dog eyes. “Please? I’ve been abandoned.”

Then Hunk’s eyes met Keith’s, and there was something Hunk was trying to communicate to him, something that felt very important.

The tense silence lasted for a few more seconds before Keith muttered, “I can help, Hunk.”

The grip on Keith’s hand tightened as Mason shook his head. “No, I’ve got this, beautiful. You just head upstairs with everyone else.”

It was clear that he was agitated. He was losing control of the situation, and fast. Keith knew that it was only a matter of time before he snapped.

When Mason let go of his hand to help Hunk with the beers, Keith was very aware of his surroundings. He took careful note of everything.

Keith’s hand had circulation again.

Hunk gave Mason the case of beer first, looking over his shoulder to Keith with a meaningful expression.

The noise of all the people talking upstairs stopped.

There was a split second of hesitation. If he ran, Mason would hurt Hunk, or even someone upstairs. If Keith ran, he was putting everyone else in danger. Could he be that selfish?

Then when Hunk purposefully dropped his case of beer on Mason’s foot, he held out his hand to Keith as Mason seethed with his hands full.

Keith didn’t have to think twice.

They were running, and Keith knew that there was danger behind him so he bolted. They were out the front door in seconds, and all of their friends were circling from the back of the house. They must have gone out the back door and down the steps to his elevated deck.

There was a row of cars out there, and Keith thought that his friends would start running to the cars, but instead they spread out, spanning arm’s width apart in Keith’s front yard with Keith directly behind them, creating a human shield of protection.

The sight made Keith’s heart race.

He peeked out from his safe space, something more potent than affection welling up in him.

Then Mason was out the front door, limping, and came across the blockade of people.

“What the actual fuck? Shiro talked you into this, right?” he looked between all the faces lined up in front of him. Keith couldn’t see their expressions, but he had to imagine that they weren’t friendly. “Keith, come on. We were having such a nice night. These people are obviously crazy.”

“Don’t respond. We aren’t here to talk to him,” Shiro said to the small group, who nodded the affirmative. Keith felt his knees start to shake. 

“Keith, baby, come back inside. It doesn’t have to be this way. We were happy,” Mason cooed at him with tears forming in his eyes. It was too dark to see the green from this far away. Right now it just looked black. 

Keith’s knees gave out and he collapsed into a kneel in the yard, the adrenaline and fear and the short sprint taking everything out of him at once.

The line of people started to back up, never taking their eyes off of Mason.

A person was standing over Keith, and he looked up to see Lance kneeling down to get eye level with Keith. He was hesitant, like he was approaching a deer, but he didn’t touch Keith yet. “Hey, we’re going to get you out of here. Is it okay if I pick you up, or are you okay to walk?”

Keith wasn’t even sure what ‘okay’ was anymore.

“I can walk,” Keith finally whispered, but took Lance’s offered hand to help him up. Then the group was moving back towards the cars, and Keith was led into Shiro’s SUV.

When Lance got into the back with him, Keith felt all of the emotions rushing over him, all the fear and anger and disgust and hatred and love and… it was all too much. He fell into Lance’s chest, letting his strong arms wrap loosely around his back.

It was an overwhelming, all-consuming wave and Keith was adrift in a sea of emotions.

Lance anchored him down as the car started to drive away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Keith and Lance deal with the aftermath of Mason's visit.
> 
> If you like this, check out some of my other fics! I have a few other ongoing Voltron projects- I'm about to post updates to two of my series, "How Fondly Loves (The Homesick Heart)" as well as"Our Hearts Beat as One". I've also got a fun flufftastic post-canon Klance fic called "Leftover Lovesongs"
> 
> When you guys comment it really helps to motivate me to continue working on the content, so if you like what you read don't forget to let me know<3


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Shiro help Keith through the aftermath of Mason's visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently I was lying. This fic might update extremely sporadically. It will, however, be completed! My life fluctuates wildly from "I have too much time" to "I still have six things I needed to do three days ago" 
> 
> This story line will be coming to a close shortly. I know it has been tough going, and I'm so grateful that everyone has been so supportive with it. This plot line is necessary to understanding Keith within the context of this world, so thank you for being patient.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter will deal with the aftermath of an abusive ex returning. It will include talking of legal issues, and discussions of difficult pasts. If this fic makes you feel some type of way, please reach out to a loved one or a professional. 
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

When Lance was ten, his older sister fell out of a tree. They had been climbing together, and Veronica had always seemed so sure of herself and confident, but the moment she hit the ground and her leg snapped underneath her, Lance saw her transform before his eyes.

She was no longer the immortal and untouchable older sister. She was just another scared kid on the ground, who started screaming for their mother.

Lance felt closer to her after that. He wasn’t going to shame her for feeling pain or being human. He had knelt over her and asked what hurt, and then ran as fast as he could to get his father so that he could carry Veronica to a car and get her to a hospital.

Lance stayed next to Veronica on the ride over. He’d held her hand as her fingers clutched his tightly, tightly enough that he was worried about broken bones.

Of course he had been fine, but watching someone he cared about hurting that badly was one of the most devastating feelings that Lance had ever experienced.

When they’d gotten to the hospital the nurses had to transfer her into a wheelchair very carefully so they could get her inside and splint the leg. Veronica had screamed when they were initially taking her out of the car, and Lance remembered seeing red and aching to punch all of them for making his sister suffer more.

Lance always fought for those he loved.

  
  


***

  
  


Keith hadn’t said a word since they’d gotten in the car. His face was pressed into Lance’s chest, and he was mildly shaking but otherwise silent, staring into space in the circle of Lance’s arms.

Lance wanted to ask Keith if he was okay with the touching. Lance wanted to kiss every inch of Keith’s skin. Lance wanted to go back and murder the man who’d made Keith look this lost.

Adam glanced back at the two of them, reading some texts off his phone. “Allura is home. Hunk and Shay are still outside of Keith’s house and Mason is sitting on the porch.”

“Are we still going to Malibu?”

“That’s the plan,” Shiro said tightly. He’d been a coiled wire, taut and controlled since Lance showed up at his door frantic.

Initially Adam reached out to pat Shiro’s arm, but thought better of it and let his hand drop.

Keith curled up tighter in Lance’s arms, and he felt himself grow stoic. He needed to be stable and sturdy right now. He needed to be there for Keith.

Keith needed him.

The rest of the ride went pretty smoothly. LA traffic didn’t stretch this late into the night. They got to Allura’s place without a hitch, and she was standing by her front door with Lotor behind her, watching with an unreadable expression as Adam and Shiro climbed out of the car.

Lance looked down at Keith, but it didn’t appear that Keith was even paying attention. His gaze was unfocused and glassy.

“Keith? Is it okay if I carry you inside?”

No answer.

“Keith? Talk to me, please,” Lance felt his throat start to close up, emotions overwhelming him.

Shiro opened the door closest to Lance’s side, watching Lance start to panic with a grim expression. The porchlight cast Shiro’s shadow over them, and it made it even harder to see if Keith was responding.

“Keith, I need you to tell me it’s okay.  _ Hablame por favor _ , Keith,” the Spanish slipped out unthinkingly, and he felt Shiro’s arm on his suddenly.

“He’s not going to answer right now. I know I told you earlier to ask before touching him, but I don’t think he’s going to respond at this point. Just get him into the guest bed for right now.”

Lance nodded quickly, adjusting Keith’s weight in his arms. He was easy to maneuver, like a doll, and it made Lance want to cry and scream and punch something. However, he couldn’t do any of that now. He had to be there for Keith.

For such a slim person, Keith was built sturdily, so it took a little more effort than he’d like to admit to pull him from the car. However, they say that when you are motivated enough, your body will figure the rest out.

After a little re-adjustment of the weight distribution, they walked into the house. Lance felt the heavy stares of everyone. The only one who followed him towards the bedroom was Shiro, who talked quietly with Allura before directing Lance to the room he himself had stayed in recently.

When they got inside Lance immediately went to the bed and laid Keith down onto it. Keith was already in comfortable clothes, luckily, so Lance took a step back, wondering if he should pull back the covers or…

...turned out Shiro had it covered. He went to the linen closet and pulled out a warm blanket, draping it over Keith gently. His eyes were closed, but after being covered up he immediately curled up on his side facing away from them.

Shiro sat down on the bed, looking pained as he fiddled with his prosthetic thumb, popping it in and out of the socket. Lance didn’t even know it could do that.

“Keith, I’m going to call the police. They can clear Mason out of the house, and then I can go get some of your stuff.”

The lump formerly known as Keith curled up tighter.

“Everyone is going to give statements, but it would really help if you let us take some photos of your injuries and if you tell the police everything.”

The lump groaned, and Lance found it in himself to crack a tiny smile. However, something had stuck in Lance’s mind. Why did Keith have injuries? What the hell happened?

When Lance had stormed to Shiro’s and the two of them enlisted everyone for the plan, Shiro had been very vague about the situation but very specific about his instructions for the intervention. Now Lance wondered… what was Shiro hiding?

There continued to be silence from the peanut gallery. 

Finally Shiro gathered up more courage, and asked, “I need to ask you some more questions. I’m going to ask Lance to leave.”

For the first time, the lump moved. Keith had turned towards them, mostly burrowed into the blankets, but his expression was unfocused. “Lance can stay.”

“Are you sure?”

Keith nodded, turning to look at Lance. Through the stoicism, Lance could see how vulnerable Keith was right now. Lance needed to stay strong. He just had to.

“Okay,” Shiro was making direct eye contact with Lance when he asked, “Did he rape you?”

The word “rape” seemed too big and bad for Lance to swallow. “Rape” was something theoretical and far away. It wasn’t something that happened to his friends. Keith had sat up now, staring off into the corner with the blanket wrapped protectively around himself. 

“Do you want specifics?” Keith’s response was icy, almost eerily so.

There was a wet sheen over Shiro’s eyes, and Lance realized that Shiro was shaking. The older man was devastated, but he was trying to hold it together. “Yes.”

“I blew him, but that was it. It wasn’t…” Keith took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I was going to say that it was something I decided to do, but you always tell me that if he gave me no other options and I didn’t give explicit consent that it’s assault.”

The words were practiced and dull, like Keith had told himself that in front of the mirror a thousand times in order to believe them. In the end, it still didn’t appear that Keith believed them.

“How did he get in?”

The words were tentative. Clearly Shiro was worried about the answer, as if… as if he expected Keith to say that he’d invited him over.

“I was cooking, and I wasn’t even thinking. I heard the doorbell and I answered it without checking through the window first. Then it… well, you know how he is,” Keith swallowed forcibly, “I’m sorry Shiro, I… I called him last night when I was starting to have the panic attack. He sucks, but he was always good at talking me through those.”

Shiro’s flesh fist was curled up so tight that Lance worried if he was piercing the skin of his palm with his nails.

“Okay,” Shiro closed his eyes. “Who do you want in the room with you when we take the pictures? They’ll have to testify if we move to get the emergency protective order.”

“Lance,” Keith said it immediately and with conviction. “I just want to be alone with Lance.”

Glancing up at Lance, Shiro’s dark eyes left no room for negotiation. “Take the pictures with your phone and send them to me immediately. Make sure you get everything.”

Then Shiro got up and closed the door gently behind him.

The room was suddenly far too big and far too dark. Lance went over to the bedside lamp and flicked it on to help, but it only served to illuminate Keith’s face further.

“Let’s get this over with,” Keith muttered, shedding the blanket. “We should do it against the white wall.”

It was unnerving how familiar Keith appeared to be with this procedure.

Lance took his phone out, flipping to the camera as Keith started to strip.

In order to prevent himself from making any noises, Lance bit his tongue. It had been a good call.

When Keith’s shirt came off, the first thing Lance saw was the butterfly wings of bruises on the backs of his hips. The next thing was the clear bite mark on Keith’s arm, and the bruising on Keith’s wrists.

“He didn’t do any damage to my legs,” Keith explained as he turned around against the wall, forehead leaning against it. “Take one of the back, one of the front, and one on each side. Then get close-ups of each injury.”

Lance didn’t want to be the one in here. Lance didn’t want to see this, he wanted to go murder Mason, he wanted to guard Keith to protect him from the world. Instead he was helping to expose him to it.

Somewhere in Lance’s mind he knew that it was ultimately the right thing to do, but it didn’t help to soothe him.

Keith came a little closer to Lance. Despite the bruising and the dead look in his eyes, Keith didn’t look all that different than he normally did. Lance zoomed in on each wrist, and the bite, and the back bruises. When Lance finished with the back, he thought he was done, but Keith shook his head.

“My throat,” Keith mumbled, turning a bit red. “I, um… it’s been bleeding on and off. Turn on the flashlight to get the picture.”

This was too much for Lance, but he found it in himself to nod soberly and do as asked. Once the inside of Keith’s throat was illuminated, Lance could see what Keith was referring to.

If Lance wanted to rip Mason apart before, now he was certain.

Once that was done Keith put his shirt back on and collapsed onto the bed like a starfish, staring up at the ceiling.

“You know that feeling? The one where things get so bad that you just go numb?”

The beautiful Cuban boy took a seat on the bed next to Keith’s outstretched hand, tracing the veins visible through the pale skin with his eyes.

Lance nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

“I need to give a statement to police soon,” Keith closed his eyes, coughing a dry and short laugh. “I just need to keep myself together until they come. Then I can sleep.”

“Keith?”

His violet eyes opened, looking up at Lance with honest curiosity. “Yeah?”

“This isn’t what love looks like,” Lance whispered, and it looked like the words made Keith wilt.

“I know, Lance.”

“Should I stay with you?” Lance asked now, and part of him wondered if he could stomach staying.

Keith nodded. “Yeah, Lance. Please stay.”

The “p” in please was a little wobbly, so Lance shuffled closer to Keith and laid next to him in the bed, their shoulders just barely touching.

  
  


***

  
  


Keith has spent the last hour going over his testimony with police and then submitting the pictures as evidence for the protective order until the charges could be officially filed.

When the officer finally left, Shiro looked into the room and smiled wanly before shutting the rest of the world out and leaving Lance and Keith alone.

Everything was buzzing sharply with adrenaline, and slowly the buzzing became vibrations and the vibrations shook everything apart. Keith felt himself come undone.

Lance was right there, though. He asked if he could touch Keith. He brought Keith’s head to his chest when Keith nodded. A few gentle and reassuring kisses were planted into his hair, and Keith felt emotion well up in him.

When had Lance become his safe place?

Here, in the circle of his arms, Keith knew that he could fall apart.

They both kept silent vigil for the day in the dark. 

  
  


***

The next morning Lance woke to an empty bed.

He immediately bolted upright, feeling terrified and exhausted and energized all at once, an odd cacophony of emotion that sent him hurtling towards Allura’s kitchen.

When he got there, though, it was to Allura and Shiro chatting idly, with Keith making what looked like eggs.

It was eerily pleasant. Lance had trouble wiping the police reports and bruising and jailbreak that they’d performed from his head. It was hard to reconcile that level of unsettling events with this picturesque breakfast scene.

“Good morning, Lance. Keith insisted on making us breakfast. There’s coffee made, and you know where the tea is.”

“Yeah,” Lance responded with his mouth still agape. Shiro tapped his own chin to indicate that Lance should close it. “Good morning.”

Keith turned around then, smiling widely. It was uncanny how easily he lit up from seeing Lance. “Hey! Did you want cheese on your egg sandwich?”

With Shiro’s eyes narrowed in on him, Lance recovered faster and said, “Yeah, I would. Thanks.”

Lance walked over towards Keith and came up beside him, leaving a small amount of space between them. “Can I…?”

Lance was abruptly cut off by a short peck on the lips from Keith, who hummed into the connection. When he pulled back, he whispered against Lance’s lips, “Thanks.”

The gesture was small and intimate, and Lance felt his chest tighten

“Did you need help?” Lance asked softly, feeling a prying urge to assist with something. 

“You could watch the eggs while I throw the bread in the toaster oven,” Keith suggested, handing the spatula in his hand up to Lance. The gesture left the bruises and bite marks on Keith’s right arm exposed, and it was just another reminder that something wasn’t right here.

“Okay.”

Shiro and Allura continued their discussion. It was something about distribution of research grants and how the military had started becoming too involved in the decision making process.

“It’s taking our desire for knowledge, which is supposed to better mankind, and sullying it,” Allura spat. “I’m being redirected into research on things that could be dangerous if put in the wrong hands.”

“It’s tough,” Shiro agreed, and Lance fiddled with the eggs on the skillet to make sure they weren’t burning.

After a few moments Keith returned, hands snaking around Lance’s waist gently and resting his chin on Lance’s shoulder.

The motion was so domestic, so perfect that Lance finally accepted that this must be a dream. Last night had been hell on earth, but now he could escape into his own mind where Keith was unhurt and domestic and Shiro and Allura are debating grant politics instead of debating legal issues.

It was so simple, so easy going…

“Pinch me,” Lance asked, leaning into Keith’s grasp to try to hold onto the moment longer. The feeling of Keith’s strong chest against his back, of his hips gently nudging into his… the strong body behind him was a gentle reminder that Lance wasn’t alone.

However, that illusion shattered when Keith didn’t hesitate to pinch Lance’s shoulder.

“Ow! Hey!” Lance jumped, almost dropping the spatula. He whirled around on Keith, ready to whine about the pain… except he stopped.

In that moment, Keith looked unabashedly happy. His smirk was a little apologetic as he started giggling, wiping a tear from his eye after a second. The life had returned to his violet of his irises, no longer dulled by the weight of yesterday.

Lance had to remind himself that he’d been pinched. This wasn’t a dream.

Then Keith pushed him aside gently to ensure that the eggs wouldn’t burn, and Lance found himself plopping down on a seat at the table, dazed and relieved.

Allura was smirking at him. “I hope you aren’t hoping that your favor with the chef means your meal will be better.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Keith scoffed, giving her playful side eye. He assembled their breakfast sandwiches and brought them to the table, along with a side of fresh fruit and roasted potatoes. The four of them eagerly started digging in, and Lance was barely able to process anything except for how delicious everything tasted.

The room was silent as they all enjoyed the first few bites of their meals uninterrupted. 

“Keith, I’m hiring you as my personal chef,” Allura swore, cheeks pink from excitement as she eagerly continued to eat.

“No way,” Shiro shook the comment off, “Keith is a freelance cook. He’ll cook for people if he wants and when he wants to. You can’t chain Keith’s culinary prowess down based off your mundane notions of time.”

The whole room fell dead silent as the three of them stared at Shiro.

“What?”

Keith was the one who choked out, “ _ Mundane notions of time?!” _

Shrugging, Shiro popped a watermelon slice into his mouth. “I’ve been hanging out in the philosophy department a lot.”

The four of them burst out laughing at that, and Lance wondered if this was really all going to be okay.

  
  


***

  
  


Keith was busy going through the bag that Shiro had packed for him, sorting out his clothes and toiletries and shoes. He only asked for about two sets of clothes. There was a chance that the magistrate wouldn’t issue the protective order against Mason until Monday, in which case Keith would be camping out with Allura.

He was still blown away. Everything from the last twenty-four hours was breezing by him and he was left spinning in the dust, wondering what his life had become.

When it came to making friends, Keith was never particularly skilled. Shiro was like family so he put up with Keith’s moods and flightiness, and Adam was family by association. Keith had always been friendly with Allura, and she’d helped out in difficult times, but even that was topical at best.

Last night was different.

There were so many times in the two years that Keith dated Mason where he was so alone. He’d think about kicking Mason out and setting his own course with his own life and people, but… Keith wasn’t good at making friends, and Mason was good at manipulating Keith to drop the ones he did have like flies.

First he said that they were a new couple, and that they needed alone time. Then, when Keith started bailing on plans to spend time with Mason, it evolved into “Keith these people don’t want to see you you’ve been ditching them for weeks” which then turned further into, “Keith, I’m the only one who can even stand to be around you. What kind of friend are you?”

Then, the big game came along. Even through all the abuse, Keith had kept as close as feasibly possible with Shiro and Adam. Mason knew that it was a bond that he couldn’t touch, unless there were extenuating circumstances. The extenuating circumstances, in this case, being that Keith was set to be a best man at Adam and Shiro’s wedding.

It was three months before the break-up. It was the beginning of the darkest part of Keith’s life.

Being the best man, Keith had taken out Shiro a few nights before the wedding to celebrate his bachelor party. During this time, Keith ended up getting hit on by someone at the bar. They slipped their number into Keith’s pocket while he wasn’t paying attention. Keith doesn’t even remember, looking back, whether they were a boy or girl or attractive or pushy or anything really. His only thought while he was trying to get away was that he hoped that he could keep this from Mason.

So then as the designated driver, after dropping the bachelor and friends off, Keith went home.

Mason was waiting up reading a Hemingway novel. He was always waiting up for Keith with a classic novel and a beer.

They kissed and touched and got ready for bed.

A paper napkin fell out of Keith’s pocket and onto the floor, and Mason had picked it up in interest before Keith even had time to figure out what it was.

That was how Keith ended up in the hospital three days before Shiro’s wedding.

This was Mason’s window of opportunity.

His argument, at the time, was sound. He’d told Keith that the last thing Shiro and Adam needed right now was more drama from him. Keith had caused them enough strife over the years. It was better to let them have this one important and happy day, Mason had insisted. You can tell them when you see them after it’s over.

There was never an after.

The second that Adam and Shiro got back from their honeymoon, Mason started in on how Keith couldn’t get his ass out of the hospital to make it to the wedding of the only real family he has. Shiro didn’t want to hear from Keith, according to Mason. Keith should just let them be happy and live his own life.

Around and around the carousel of psychological abuse went.

Last night, though, something had changed. This time, when he was pulled onto the carousel a few people that cared about him hopped onto the damn thing with him. They helped him down. They held him close. They stood as a line of bodies between Keith and his abuser without hesitation.

It wasn’t just Shiro, either. Adam and Allura would follow Shiro into any battle, so even though Keith was surprised to see them he understood why they were there.

However, he was completely knocked off course when he saw who else came to help him. Hunk and Shay, who he’s only met a few times but who were two of the kindest people he knew. Lotor had come, standing firm next to Allura. In fact, Hunk and Lotor were instrumental in executing Shiro’s escape plan. They had taken their roles without blinking.

Then there was Lance. Lance, who had seen Mason in his house and who could have made all the wrong assumptions. Lance, who could have easily just checked on Keith in a few days.

Lance, who brought Keith a half-melted s’mores milkshake because he was worried about him.

It was Lance’s hands that had carried him inside. It was his chest that he was tucked against. It was Lance’s eyes that Keith had exposed his wounds to.

“You seem happy,” a voice came from behind Keith, and he pivoted to face Lance. The beauty of the other man still stunned Keith, sometimes. His strong, sharp facial contours dramatically contrasted with his bright baby blues and long eyelashes. His perfect teeth were worrying his lip as he leaned against the doorframe. It appeared that he was waiting for Keith’s response.

“I am,” Keith surprised himself by answering. It didn’t feel like a lie.

That made Lance straighten in alarm. “You’re seriously fine after everything that happened yesterday?”

Keith took a moment to reassess himself, but… he wasn’t upset. If anything, he felt more at peace than he had in months.

“It’s hard to explain, but I feel good. Yesterday was hell, don’t get me wrong, but… compared to how it used to be? I’m not just talking about the abuse either,” Keith was staring at his bruised wrists, deep in thought, “but I’ve never had someone care enough to help me. If anything, yesterday proved just how much progress I’ve managed to make over the course of the last year. It wasn’t just Shiro and Adam, either, all of you came. Obviously there are still bumps in the road, but… I finally feel like I have a place where I belong.”

Lance came forward and brushed his fingers along the inside of Keith’s wrist. It had become a comforting habit the two of them had gotten into. It was unspoken, but Keith got a silent thrill from how such a small and innocuous touch could affect them both so much.

“I want to understand,” Lance insisted, leading Keith to the bed so that they could sit down. The other man had been treating Keith very delicately since last night. It was a welcome change to the way that Mason treated him, but Keith wanted to scream that he wouldn’t break. “Can you explain it to me?”

The thoughts that had just rushed unbidden through his mind came back, and Keith found himself beginning like this: 

“When it comes to making friends, I was never exactly  _ skilled… _ ”

After all the words were laid out in front of Lance, the other man started to pick apart the meaning. Keith could see the gears click in Lance’s mind as he remembered Keith not being at the wedding. Keith watched Lance bite his lip when they talked about Keith being in the hospital. Keith watched Lance start to comprehend where he was emotionally right now, and once all that was done Lance looked up at Keith with unadulterated awe.

“Keith,” Lance took both of Keith’s hands gently in his own, kissing the palms in turn, “You are one of the strongest people that I’ve ever met.”

Then, in the small band of daylight peaking in on the edges of the guest room windows, Keith straddled Lance’s lap and kissed him. That kiss had all the emotions that he wasn’t able to voice, an unnamable onslaught that Lance took eagerly.

Finally, Keith could feel the weight on Lance lighten, and the two of them were floating in this odd happiness together.

His world settled back into its peace.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Lance and Keith take time to heal after Mason's disruption. 
> 
> If you like this, check out my other fics! I've got another ongoing fic called "Leftover Lovesongs" that is a fun smuffy post-canon Klance piece. In addition to that I have a whole slew of other works. (Trust me, you'll find something you'll like. If not, please contact the manufacturer. You may be eligible for a money-back guarantee on your purchase. JK this doesn't cost money, just hours of your life. You can't get those back. RIP)


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith takes some time to regroup and recover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!
> 
> I want to thank all of you for your patience and kindness with regards to this story<3 As always, comments and kudos keep me motivated so if you like this story don't forget to let me know
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter deals with discussion of past abuse as well as recovery. If this story makes you feel some type of way, please reach out to a loved one or a professional.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

Shiro had left that afternoon, leaving just Allura with Keith and Lance. She had excused herself to her docks to read through student papers, so Keith and Lance were left lazing on the couch, watching old cartoons and nibbling on snacks.

Lance found it strange just how comforting he found Keith’s touch to be. Just the knowledge that the other man was in his arms, safe and sound, was enough for the stress of the last day to slow down.

Later that evening, Lance and Keith curled up in bed together, and Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist from behind, resting his forehead comfortably on Lance’s back.

“Good night,” Keith whispered, and Lance sighed and settled into the contact.

“Good night.”

Every night Lance dreamed in colors. They were vibrant and neon and stunning. His whole world bloomed forth in exciting colors that he didn’t even think existed in the waking world.

Today he was with his family at his parent’s house in Cuba. His siblings and nieces and nephews and cousins were wandering about. Everyone was decked out in modern-art style clothes. 

A few strangers were also wandering around that set Lance on edge.

When Lance asked about them, though, his family members would look angry. The stranger’s color would drip from their outfits and leave the world around them in grayscale.

“Mom? Who are those people?” Lance asked nervously, spying the few intruders with a lot of effort. Whenever he tried to zoom in on them, their features became distorted.

The grayscale starting leaking out of the strangers and into the rest of the violently colorful landscape. Lance felt fear start to take hold of him.

“Mama? These people need to leave,” Lance said in a shaky breath, and when he took in the scene again the grayscale was quickly taking over everything in this beautiful scene. The trees, the birds, the modern art clothes were all disappearing.

Then he heard a yell, and he wondered who was yelling before he was unceremoniously yanked out of dream world and back into the bed with Keith.

The yelling wasn’t from the dream, Lance realized, sitting up in bed with a start.

Keith’s mouth was hanging open, wordless utterings streaming from him. His brow was covered in sweat, and he clutched at the sheets and his shirt in what looked like a panic.

“Keith,” Lance whispered, running a hand gently over Keith’s arm, “Keith, it’s okay.”

That didn’t seem to do it, though, because Keith started thrashing around.

For a second Lance backed up, but quickly cleared his head and acted. He threw his arms around Keith’s torso and tangled his legs in Keith’s, keeping him in place. Keith whimpered at the contact, and Lance thought about letting go. He didn’t know what he was doing. He could be doing more harm than good. He could be…

“Keith, wake up,” he pressed two kisses into Keith’s neck, “It’s just a dream. You’re safe. You’re here with me.”

That was when Keith’s eyes flew open, bloodshot and confused, and Lance untangled himself and went for the bedside lamp.

When he turned around, Keith didn’t look so good. His color was drained from his face. His cheeks were red and his lips were chapped, and he was shaking as he stared at Lance with surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked.

“You had a nightmare, I think. You were yelling.”

Keith bit his lip. “Oh, yeah. Sorry that I woke you.”

Lance was still in shock that Keith, who looked like he’d just contracted five different variations of the flu, was apologizing to Lance.

“It’s seriously not a problem. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Shrugging, Keith’s eyelids started to droop again. “I don’t even remember what the dream was about.”

“Oh,” Lance responded, left feeling a little odd as he turned the bedside lamp off again, “Alright. Go back to bed, then.”

“Mm-hmm,” Keith was out in a matter of seconds.

  
  


***

  
  


On Sunday Lance went back to Hunk’s. Keith was back at his own home, but Shiro was going to stick around for the day and make sure that Mason didn’t come back. The brothers were also, apparently, installing some new security measures.

Lance was out with Shay and Hunk eating lunch when Hunk finally said something. Up until then they’d been maintaining polite chit-chat, but then it changed to, “So, how is Keith doing? Shiro really hasn’t given us many details.”

When he looked up, both Hunk and Shay were glancing at each other nervously. There was genuine concern on their faces. 

“He’s doing okay,” Lance said, fiddling with a french fry on his plate. “Shiro is going to be with him today.”

“So, I hate to ask this, but what the hell was that on Friday?”

Wincing, Lance couldn’t make eye contact with either of them. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, and don’t get me wrong I was 100% on board to help Keith, but Shiro really didn’t give us all that much information. He told us that Mason was Keith’s ex and that he could be dangerous, and that Keith needed to get out of the house. Then we just went through with his plan, without any follow-up or… dude, I sat outside his house for two hours until the police arrived. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I just wish we had an idea of the situation.”

Hunk wasn’t very good at asking for things like this, but Shay was holding his hand in support so Lance knew they’d discussed it together. 

“It’s not my story to tell,” Lance said honestly, and the two of them deflated upon hearing that.

“Right, yeah, sorry,” Hunk blubbered, but Shay just narrowed her eyes at Lance.

“We’re not asking for his life story, Lance. We just want to know the basics. Anything is better than the nothing we’re going on right now.”

When Hunk asked for something, he was usually uncomfortable and tentative in his request.

When Shay asked for something, her glare could pierce through any defenses with ease.

“Okay, the basics,” Lance nibbled on his fry for something to do while he edited the story, “Keith and Mason broke up a year ago. Their relationship was extremely unhealthy, so Keith had removed him from his life. Keith wasn’t paying attention the other day and let Mason in the front door. Shiro knew how bad the relationship was before, so when I told him Mason was at the house that was when we enlisted your help.”

“Keith’s okay, right? He didn’t get hurt?” Hunk’s concerned expression was genuinely breaking Lance’s heart.

Biting his lip, Lance said softly, “He’s doing better now.”

It was the best non-answer that Lance could come up with on the spot.

Shay swore under her breath, stabbing her chicken salad aggressively. “I’m going to kill that jackass.”

“Get in line,” Lance deadpanned, rubbing his arm nervously.

  
  


***

  
  


On Monday morning, Keith was laying out all his materials to bring with him to his shoot. When Shiro blinked up at him blearily at 5 AM, he was suspicious. 

“I have to teach a class. Why are you up this early?”

“I have a shoot,” Keith responded, throwing a lunch into his bag.

“You… have a shoot?” Shiro was still in his pre-coffee early morning haze. “Who are you shooting?”

“I have a  _ shoot _ Shiro, like a modeling gig. That thing I do for a living? It’s an old contract. I talked to them yesterday about whether or not I could come in with the bruising. They told me that they’d take care of covering it up in prep, but that I should come a little earlier.”

While Shiro poured some of the coffee Keith made, he was still staring quizzically at the dark-haired man. 

“Do I have something on my face?” 

Catching himself, Shiro shook his head. “No, of course not. I’m just really proud of you for continuing to live your life.”

The praise was simultaneously pleasant and frustrating, so Keith went with a neutral scowl when he replied, “One bad day isn’t going to stop me. I’ve been through worse, and I’m stronger now.”

“Hell yeah,” Shiro raised his own coffee mug in a cheers motion.

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was at work staring at his irradiated cells without really taking anything about them in. 

The weekend was horrible. Lance spent most of it with Keith and worrying, or away from Keith and still, unsurprisingly, worrying.

After work he went right over to Keith’s, drumming on the steering wheel at every light.

When he got there he knocked, and waited for Keith to check who was outside before he opened the door. 

Upon looking at Keith’s face, Lance was stunned. “I, you…. look so pretty.”

Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes. He moved aside to let Lance in, who was busy staring in awe.

The other man’s hair was falling messily down his shoulders, perfectly coiffed. His face was eerily pristine, contoured and sharp. He even had a little bit of brown eyeliner that highlighted the purplish grey color

“I had a shoot today,” Keith defended, rubbing his arm awkwardly. Lance had rarely seen Keith be awkward. Keith was usually deliberate and straightforward. 

Awkward was a weird look on him, but Lance hadn’t expected him to bounce right back after the last few days.

Finally Lance smiled and touched Keith’s hand with his pinky, barely a brush but affectionate all the same. 

“I want to kiss your perfect face, now,” Lance announced awkwardly, trying to sound flirty while also trying not to push Keith.

The other man rolled his eyes. “Just kiss me, you idi…” but Lance has already surged forward and placed a kiss on Keith’s lips, smiling around the kiss because Keith was still humming in annoyance.

Lance thinks that this is it- this is one of those moments. Where the world stops turning and everything becomes clear, so unceasingly clear that it’s almost impossible to feel anything other than complete and total understanding.

“I love you.”

Keith’s eyes widen into saucers. “Lance…”

“I don’t expect you to say it back right away,” Lance reassured, immediately backtracking and trying to make sure that he wasn’t pressuring Keith, “I just… I felt it, just then. I need you to know that I love you.”

At that, Keith took a step back. The empty house was suddenly echoing with silence, the white detailing proving to be too pristine in the background of Keith’s sudden closed off expression.

“You don’t even know me,” Keith’s hands came up to rub the opposite arms, not meeting Lance’s eyes. “How could you love me?”

“What are you, a teenage protagonist in a rom com? I’m telling you that I, Lance McClain, a consenting and sane adult, loves you, Keith Kogane… wait, have we ever gone over the fact that our last names rhyme?!”

What was Lance on, exactly? He wasn’t sure what drug he was injected with while he wasn’t looking, but being around Keith right now was making him lightheaded and loose lipped. Maybe all the stress he’d been building up from the day popped when he saw that Keith was okay. Maybe at that point Lance let himself feel hope and excitement again.

They stood a few feet apart, Lance looking into Keith’s eyes with a beseeching confidence and Keith backing away like a scared doe.

“I’ve never… the only person that has ever loved me romantically was Mason,” Keith said in a small voice, and Lance felt his elation scale back in the recognition of the magnitude of what was happening.

“Wait, I take it back!” Lance insisted, fumbling with his attempt to save the situation.

Keith looked completely disbelieving, his face just blown away in open shock. “What the fuck, Lance, you don’t get to take it back!”

“I-I-I do! I take it back! It’s mine again! Haha,” Lance snatched at the air between them victoriously, and Keith viciously snatched the invisible item in the air back again.

“No take-backs, Lance,” Keith teased, his body language finally easing and his face cracking into an amused smirk, “You told me that you love me.”

The words reflected back on Lance made his heart race. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

Keith’s hand came up, sharp face considering Lance’s with fond curiosity, trying to suss out what Lance was thinking by staring at the way his mouth wrinkled and forehead crumpled. A well manicured hand gently brushed Lance’s cheek, and he leaned into it as Keith leaned in.

They both cursed when their noses collided and sent each of their heads into bright white lights of shock.

When they pulled apart, Lance whimpered, holding his nose delicately and whining when he came away with blood.

That was when Keith started laughing.

Lance had seen Keith laugh, but this wasn’t a regular chuckle. Keith was gripping his stomach and his nose, each with different hands, and he was breathing so sharply with each wheezy laugh that he was practically squawking at Lance in the foyer.

Lance didn’t see it like that, though. Instead, Lance was transfixed, staring at the man he loved like he was a fucking god. The laughter was stunted and uneven but Keith could barely breathe, and when his hand came away from his nose and he realized he was also bleeding he actually fell onto his ass on the floor, tears starting to stream down his face.

In that moment, Lance knew a few things.

He loved Keith Kogane, inescapably and irrevocably. 

He thought Keith Kogane was the strongest person he’d ever met.

Keith Kogane was a raging fire of light and happiness and infectious love that Lance could barely look at him for two long without feeling like he’d go blind. Keith warmed Lance from the inside with each smile and each kind word. Keith was the first thing he thought about in the morning and the last thing he thought about at night.

Like the sun rises and sets over the sea, Lance just stood in stilled wonderment at the sight of it. Keith’s bright laugh burned a hole right through his resolve.

He was very content to let himself burn.

  
  


***

  
  


Laying on his bed not too long after, Lance found himself wondering if he’d ever been in Keith’s bed when they weren’t having sex. The two of them were both in lounge pants and t-shirts, legs tangled on the comforter as a Queen song played in the background. Keith was perched on Lance’s chest, left arm wrapped around his torso and right arm spread-eagled out to the rest of the bed. Lance played with Keith’s hair, feeling at the grown out section that was once Keith’s undercut.

“Get it done again,” Lance murmured, and Keith smiled.

“What, you don’t like my hair grown out?”

Lance tugged playfully at Keith’s ear. “That’s not it, doofus. I always thought your undercut made you look badass, and as I’ve learned these last few days, you are the king of all badasses.”

The words fell limply as Keith fidgeted uncomfortable under the praise. Lance’s hand froze in Keith’s hair.

“I can’t believe that you’re real,” Keith said quietly, quietly enough that Lance had to really focus to parse apart the words.

“Why?”

“I call my ex-boyfriend when I was supposed to be on a date with you. He comes back and I give him a blow job like he never left. You have to come rescue me, carry me around like a child, and take care of me like I’m an invalid. I honestly don’t know why you’ve stuck around through all this bullshit.”

Lance chewed on his lip. He could argue that the blow job wasn’t consensual, but it didn’t deal with the root problem. Keith thought he was a burden to Lance.

“I’ll tell you how I see it,” Lance said then, and Keith tensed on top of him. “I see one of the most attractive models in LA. The craziest thing about it is that the guy actually likes me. We have mind blowing sex. The guy is perfect for me in every way. Then I learn that the guy has a past that isn’t quite so perfect. I learn that even though we both know that he’s amazing now, life wasn’t always that great. So I do what any self respecting man would do while he was head over heels and help him when he needs it. Just like I know he’d do it for me.”

They were silent for a few minutes, the only sounds were “Killer Queen” and a few snapchat notifications alerting on Lance’s phone.

“He wasn’t always terrible,” Keith says into Lance’s shirt, and Lance knew Keith wasn’t referring to Lance. “He was kind, and caring, and all consuming. Being with him was great sometimes, but it was like I was the one man bomb squad in charge of defusing him whenever he went off.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Lance admitted.

“It wasn’t, but please don’t be judgmental right now. I don’t know if I have it in me to defend myself. You’ve torn down my defenses, you asshat.”

Lance grinned sheepishly. “Then I guess I want to know why you stayed? What was it about him that you loved so much?”

“He treated me like I was royalty. He held every door and cooked for me and helped me decorate my house. It was all really good until it wasn’t.”

“When did… when did he start…?”

Closing his eyes, Keith seemed to be internally debating if he wanted to respond. Finally, he said, “It started out small. He would get angry if I didn’t like the food he prepared. He would get mad if he didn’t know where I was. He started coming to every shoot with me so that I didn’t get a chance to flirt with the other models. Then the sex got rougher. Then… well, the first time he hit me was after months of emotional manipulation. I thought I deserved it.”

Swallowing, Lance felt his eyes start to prickle with tears. “I’m sorry.”

“I am, too,” Keith admitted, tightening his hold on Lance. “I saw a counselor for a few months after we broke up. I’ve come to terms with a lot of it.”

“What made you finally break up with him?”

That was what finally made Keith shiver, and Lance kissed the top of his head reassuringly. “Shiro was coming over to borrow something. I forgot that I texted him. When Shiro showed up, Mason was pissed, but he never hurt me in front of other people. Mason wanted to know if Shiro was coming over, and he told me I was lying to him about forgetting. Then, uh…” his breathing picked up, “Shiro forgot his keys in our house. He came back in and heard Mason screaming at me. When he came into the den to check on us Mason had… I was on the ground and Mason was standing over me. My mouth was bleeding and Shiro went after Mason.”

Now Keith was shaking, and Lance ran his hands soothingly up and down his arms. “You can stop, you know.”

“No, I want to get this out,” he looked up at Lance for the first time, and Lance was taken aback by how vulnerable he looked in that moment. “Mason and Shiro started to fight. Mason started beating up Shiro pretty badly, and I tackled Mason to the ground to prevent Shiro from getting hurt.”

There was quiet while Lance let the story sink in.

“That was when things started to change for me. I believed that I deserved to be punished by Mason, but Shiro didn’t, and I remember thinking that that didn’t make sense. Shiro brought me to his house and helped me file for a protective order. What we didn’t know was that Mason had recorded Shiro going after him on his phone. Every time Shiro threatens him in any way he pulls the video up.”

It was like a nightmare, or a soap opera, or something far more terrifying and dramatic than real life. Lance was shaking now, too. “I’m so happy that you’re safe.”

Keith’s hold on Lance tightened. “Me, too.”

Lance started to prop himself up on the covers, and Keith followed him up so that they were both kneeling on the bed. Lance had a determined expression, and Keith looked a bit confused trying to decipher the attitude change.

“Show me,” Lance said finally, and Keith gulped.

“Show you what?”

“Show me where he hurt you.”

Keith shed his clothes slowly, careful of his bruising. Lance took his hand and guided him to lie down underneath him, Lance straddling him. Lance felt nothing but fondness, love, and amazement as his fingers traced the bruising gently. His lips came down and he pressed a barely there kiss to the discolored flesh.

When Lance kissed it, Keith drew in a sharp breath, but upon coming back and looking to Keith Lance realized that he hadn’t hurt Keith. No, instead Keith’s lip was quivering, and he nodded for Lance to keep going.

So, Lance did. He took his sweet time on each bruise, tracing the outlines with his lips, whispering praises into his skin. “You are so incredible and strong. How did I get so lucky?”

Keith was sobbing under Lance, biting his finger to stop the sounds. Lance gently guided his hand away and kissed the raw finger next. 

“It’s okay to cry. I’m not going anywhere.”

Instead, Keith surged forward and kissed Lance, aggressively clacking teeth and wrapping his arms around Lance’s shoulders. It was hot and wet and full of tears and Lance felt his heart practically burst from the exchange, like it was filling up with Keith’s pain and then was simultaneously settled and calmed. Now Lance could feel tears stream down his face.

When they broke apart, it was intense. Their eyes met and the air was charged with something. Everything else fell away, the room, their friends, even Mason. It was just the two of them, enraptured by each other, breathing in the same rhythm. Both of them were crying. Keith’s makeup was smudged from it, and his hair was fanned out onto the bed and curling around itself.

Lance had never seen someone more beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this, check out some of my other fics!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith reacts to Lance's confession. Later, they have a disagreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'sup y'all
> 
> I've been continuing to write this fic- don't worry, even with the drop in frequency of me posting this monster will be complete eventually. My life recently settled back down and I've got a lot more free time now, so hopefully posting schedule will pick back up.
> 
> After the content of the last few chapters, I just want to warn that this chapter has some angst of a different variety. It does, however, end on a good note.
> 
> As always, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

When Keith woke up the next morning, it was to someone breathing in tandem next to him.

For a second Keith panicked that it was Mason, but there was nothing holding him down to the bed. When Keith tilted his head, he saw Lance wrapped up like a messy burrito in the sheets, drooling a bit. The sight made Keith smile so widely that it hurt.

They were next to each other but weren’t touching save their legs bumping against each other. Keith carefully extricated himself, heading towards the bathroom.

When he was inside, he closed the door and leaned against it, his heart beating fast enough to merit some sort of dangerous cardiovascular event.

_ I love you. _

The words were honey in Keith’s mouth, something perfect and soothing. 

Last night, something changed. Keith wasn’t sure what initiated it exactly, if it was Lance being worried or Keith finally opening up about Mason, but the two of them just stayed up talking, holding each other tightly. Eventually Lance was naked, too, but they just laid there, skin to skin, for hours.

They fell asleep without even having sex.

Keith rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, picturing Lance’s face last night in the foyer. Lance’s eyes had softened into a soothing and affectionate blue, and he had been looking at Keith like Keith was the sun.

It was clear the moment Lance knew what he was going to say, too. At first he’d seemed unsure and impressed with Keith’s look, but then his whole face had fallen into some sort of silent recognition. The emotions morphed into something deeper than longing and became something… something like…  _ love. _

“Lance loves me,” Keith tried out on his tongue, wondering if the words would taste as good out loud, and they just made his whole chest lighten.

He’d never had something so sweet.

  
  
  


***

  
  


Later that morning Lance entered the kitchen to see Keith very carefully flipping a crepe on a skillet. Lance waited until the one he was working on was settled down before he whistled at Keith appreciatively.

“You are too perfect,” Lance muttered, then added petulantly, “throw me a bone here. Tell me something you aren’t good at.”

“Swimming,” Keith answered without even really thinking about it. “I hate being in open water. I can do a bath, but that’s my limit.”

Lance smiled and pressed a reassuring kiss to Keith’s lips. “Thanks.”

They hovered an inch apart for a few moments, caught in each other’s gazes, before Keith had to attend to the crepes again. Soon they were being stuffed with nutella and bananas and Keith folded them artfully and served them up on plates.

They sat in comfortable silence, digging into their meal when Keith cleared his throat and said, “Do you know why I love cooking?”

Pausing his fork halfway to his mouth, Lance mulled it over. “I could guess, but I don’t know.”

“It’s because of him,” Keith said slowly, eyes firmly glued on his food. “He wouldn’t let me cook for myself. He insisted that I could only eat what he made me, and would get aggressive with me when I didn’t want what he was offering. When we broke up one of the first things my counselor told me was to find something in my life that I can take control. So, it was cooking.”

“You seem to have mastered that, then,” Lance responded soberly, finally eating the small bite of crepe.

“You don’t get it, though…” Keith shuddered, dropping his fork and fiddling with his fingers, “Everything in my life is tainted by him in some way. You say you love me but there’s so much of me that is still influenced by him. He… he broke me.”

“I don’t think you’re broken, Keith,” Lance prodded gently, trying to meet Keith’s unfocused gaze without success.

Keith hummed in response, chewing thoughtfully on his crepe.

“Hey, no,” Lance’s fingers danced on Keith’s forearm, “You are incredible.”

That was when Keith finally made eye contact with Lance, a fiery determination overwriting the uncertainty and vulnerability there. “I can be both incredible and a little broken.”

Lance froze in shock, clumsily dropping his fork full of crepe back into his plate. He sat a moment, stewing in the words, before he nodded calmly. “Okay, then.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Keith asked, bristling.

The air was charged like it was last night, but with a different emotion that made Lance’s hair on his arms stand on end. Lance heard a bird chirp from outside, heard the stove click as it cooled down, and could pick out each silver fleck in Keith’s eyes.

Whatever he said next could change the course of their whole relationship. The pressure was heavy on his chest.

“I just don’t…” Lance began, swallowing, “I don’t understand yet, but I’m willing to try. I want to be better for you.”

Keith’s gaze softened. “You already are.”

“I guess I just don’t like the idea of you letting him have that kind of power over you. I want you to move passed it.”

Keith gasped sharply, and immediately his expression darkened. “I don’t like the idea of you trying to force me to change. Especially since we aren’t even dating yet.”

Turning pink, Lance muttered, “Am I wrong, though? He’s already done so much damage...”

“I’m going out,” Keith said flatly, standing up and walking towards his bedroom with his crepe, “When I get back, don’t be here.”

  
  
  


***

  
  


Lance stood in lab, collecting samples with Katie in the radiation room. He was decked out in a lead smock to prevent him from retaining radiation damage, but at this moment he kind of wanted to let the radiation fuck him up.

“Why are you so pouty?” Katie asked, giving him curious side eye. 

“Keith,” Lance answered, sighing as he scraped samples into the collection beakers.

“Why would Keith make you pouty?”

“He’s being stubborn,” Lance felt his muscles tighten and tense, anger and frustration building back up inside of him, “He was an asshole to me.”

Snorting, Katie finished collecting her sample and stepped out of the radiation zone, Lance following suit shortly after. They stripped off their protective gear and goggles, carrying their respective samples back towards the wet lab.

“I thought you two were living off in magical fairytale lands in your honeymoon stage. What changed?”

Groaning, Lance continued to do his work, weighing and measuring and taking careful notes of the information on his sample. “He’s claiming that he’s broken because of his ex and I told him he wasn’t. He shouldn’t let someone else have so much power over him.”

There was a sound of something getting placed heavily onto the other workbench, and suddenly Katie was next to Lance, staring at him. “You basically told Keith to get over it?”

“I… no! I told him to…” Lance bit his lip then, tapping his beaker with the thermometer, “shit, okay, yeah. That’s what I said. I’m not wrong, though!”

Katie groaned. “Let’s finish getting our stats and then we can talk about how stupid you’re being.”

“Hey!”

“I call them as I see them, Lance.”

“Don’t insult me. I might just accidentally spill hydrogen peroxide all over your microbes.”

Lance hadn’t meant it to be a legitimate threat, but he shivered as Katie responded coolly, “You don’t want to incur my wrath, Lance. Also, you can’t afford to get into a fight with someone else in your life while you’re dealing with this dumpster fire of a situation you landed yourself in.”

The two of them worked quietly for another twenty minutes getting their reactions going, and when they sat down to take a break until they would get their next readings, Katie whacked Lance on the head with her lab notebook.

“Hey!”

“You deserve that. Don’t threaten my science, Lance. I’ve got Ivy leagues fighting to get a piece of this research next year, and I will not let you screw that up.”

Lance acquiesced. “Fine, I’m sorry.”

“Good,” she placed the notebook down on the bench

“Are you going to help me or not?”

Katie peered at him for a moment, green eyes searching, before saying, “I can tell you a story.”

“...okay?” Lance said slowly. 

“Okay. Also, it’s not a happy story, so buckle up.”

Lance went through the motions of fake buckling his seatbelt, watching Katie turn from her usually spritely, snarky nature to something more subdued.

“So, like, you know that I’m Ace. I came out to you guys a few months ago, you threw me a party, I cried over how sweet it was for like four hours after I got home…”

“Wait what?! You cried?”

Ignoring Lance’s interjection, Katie steamrolled forward. “Anyway, I came out to you guys but I never really explained how I came to that conclusion.”

There was a pause where they made eye contact, and Lance had the presence of mind to blush. “You didn’t, no.”

The pieces were falling together for Lance in an uncomfortable manner.

“When I was a freshman here, everyone would go out to parties every weekend. The protocol was to just walk around until you zeroed in on some dubstep coming from a nearby house or dorm. I had a blast every time I went out to these parties. It was a blast to play games and mess with new people. Usually a few people in our group ended up hooking up with someone. After a few months, though, someone pointed out that I hadn’t managed to get laid at a party.”

Katie took a deep breath, steadying herself. 

“So at that point they realized they’d never heard me talk about sex, period. I’d kissed people and that was nice in a weird way, but I was just never interested in sex the way other people were. I still enjoyed sexual pleasure, just not with someone else. Then the girls in my dorm made it their mission to get me laid.

“It was sweet in its own twisted, fucked-up way. They wanted me to have the same kind of fun they were having. So we went to a fraternity party and one of the girls grabbed a fraternity brother that started flirting heavily with me, leaning over me and being a hulking mass of toxic masculinity. When he kissed me, I decided to run with it. I never  _ disliked _ kissing. Then he guided me to get a drink. Then he guided me to his room.”

The grip on Katie’s pen tightened, the veins on her hand beginning to pop. “He started to take off my clothes and I just got this overwhelming feeling of… of just  _ no _ . So I told him to stop, and he didn’t. When I screamed it, though, someone heard it.”

At that point Katie smirked. “The fraternity brothers that burst in had him off of me and out of the house in seconds. They told him that they don’t tolerate that shit and that he was a disgrace to their letters. They helped me get dressed and called me an uber home.”

Lance whistled, relieved that that was how the night had ended. “Wow, for once fraternity douches aren’t douches. It’s great that you happened into a group of guys that were halfway decent.”

She smiled. “Yeah. So, that was my first clue. Then, uh, a few weeks later I got drunk and sad. Everyone had been playing truth or dare in the lounge, and they had all been bragging about their crazy sexual conquests and I just froze up. I went back to my room and chugged my vodka. I felt broken, because I didn’t think the same way about sex that they did.

“So I met up with some guy from tinder. I went to his dorm and told him… well, you know. I gave consent. We did the thing. It just… it wasn’t terrible but it didn’t give me pleasure. It was mostly just sweaty and there was some, uh, pain too… but I asked him to keep going. I feel like I was trying to prove something to myself, and when we were done I walked out without saying good-bye.”

Their eyes met then, and Katie’s were watery. “I felt… violated. It was consensual, and I initiated it, but it felt like… it felt wrong. I didn’t leave my dorm room for a few days. Then, after a few months, I started wondering if it was just a boy thing. So I kissed a girl at a party, and it was nice, but when her hands started wandering I just got that overwhelming feeling of wrongness again. So I took a step back and gave myself time to think. I focused on school, and tried hooking up with other people, but I never got passed the kissing. Then this summer someone from my hometown came out as Ace and I started doing research on it. I sat with it for a few weeks, to really figure out if it was true, but I think I always knew it was.”

Lance was speechless. Katie wasn’t a big sharer, let alone a story with so much detail that was so impactful on her life. He wasn’t even sure how to react to what she had just said.

“So what I’ve figured out is that the people who helped me get to this decision put me in terrible situations. They really hurt me. None of them meant to, but they all hurt me in ways I can’t even really identify. They all broke me a little bit, but it gave me the knowledge that I needed to figure out who I was. So even though they hurt me, they still impact my life every time I identify as who I am.”

“Oh,” Lance felt the connection surge in. “Shit.”

“Yeah, shit is right,” she said calmly, “Sometimes the people that hurt us shape us. That doesn’t mean that they still have power over us. It just means that we acknowledge the role they played in our lives.”

The timer went off for them to take their next readings, and Lance started tapping his fingers as he read out the numbers, saying quietly, “I need to talk to Keith.”

  
  


***

  
  


Keith was sitting on the couch at Shiro and Adam’s place. Adam was sprawled out with a bag of chips watching hockey. They were both idly clicking around on their phones.

“Hey, Keith, what’s on your mind?”

The other man’s face snapped up, watching Adam. “What do you mean?”

“I mean your foot hasn’t stopped wiggling since you got here. Is this about what happened with Mason?”

Unsurprisingly, Keith’s throat tightened. “I had a fight with Lance.”

“Was it about Mason?”

“Yeah.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “That boy is fucking stupid. You’ve been through enough in the last week…”

“Stop, it wasn’t… it wasn’t anything that Lance did necessarily. I’m just trying to figure out what Mason means to me now, and Lance is being an asshole about it.”

Chocolate eyes narrowed on Keith thoughtfully, and he put the hockey game on mute in order to pay better attention to Keith. “What do you mean?”

“Mason messed me up. I don’t think I will ever really be over Mason, period. Not romantically, but just… in general. I think he broke me, and I don’t think it’ll ever get fixed.”

Biting his lip, Adam asked, “Do you want me to support you, or challenge you?”

Keith groaned. “I don’t know, just say what’s on your mind.”

“I think that Mason will always be with you, a little bit, but that doesn’t mean that you’re broken. It just means that you took what he did to you and learned and grew from it. What he did turned you into the person you are today, but I wouldn’t say that you were broken by that. I’d say that it just became a part of you.”

Blinking at Adam, he asked, “Have you been hanging out in the philosophy department, too?”

“They know how to throw a good party,” Adam confessed, and they grinned at each other goofily.

Keith saw where Adam was coming from, swallowing at the recognition that Lance and him may have been acting stupidly.

“Should I apologize to Lance?” Keith asked warily, and Adam snorted.

“No, you shouldn’t. Lance should apologize, but I think it’ll be good for you to forgive him.”

Keith settled back in as the sound on the tv was turned back on.

“Invite him over for Thanksgiving this year.”

Keith peered over at Adam. “Are you sure? Margaret might make a scene.”

“My mother needs to get over herself. I think watching her face when she realizes that there is another set of boyfriends at the family holiday will be 100% worth it.”

Frowning, Keith asked, “I’m inviting Lance to meet the family, alright? It’s not just a way to mess with your mother. Promise me that you won’t make it about that.”

Grinning devilishly, Adam muttered, “Who says it can’t be both?”

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was having serious deja vu standing on Keith’s front porch at midnight with two half melted shakes from the same burger joint. 

When Keith answered, Lance was relieved to see that Keith looked happy to see him. The other man chuckled when he saw the milk shakes.

“Have you never heard of flowers?”

Narrowing his blue eyes, Lance argued, “You can’t eat flowers.”

“We can’t eat this, either. We drink it,” Keith jabbed with a mischievous side-eye, snatching his milk shake and opening the door wider to allow Lance in.

“You’re the worst,” Lance poked Keith playfully in his side, “Why do I even hang out with you?”

Keith stopped, whirling on Lance and planting a slightly off balance kiss to his mouth. “You love me, that’s why.”

The words dug deep and possessive into Lance’s midsection, but there was a part of him that wanted to cry out. Lance had told Keith he loved him, but… Keith hadn’t said it back yet. He was willing to be patient, especially with all this Mason business, but Lance didn’t want to admit how much it stung to not hear it reciprocated.

“Telling you about it was a stupid idea of mine,” Lance muttered as Keith started leading him towards the kitchen.

The two of them bantered back and forth until they were most of the way done with their milkshakes, and Keith hopped onto the counter in front of Lance’s stool so that they were looking at each other with barely contained lust.

“I’m sorry,” Lance said quietly.

“I know.”

“He’ll always be a little part of you, and I have to get used to that.”

Keith’s breathing hitched. “I know.”

Lance’s fingers started delicately dancing up Keith’s leg, and he surged up and kissed Keith hungrily. The stool clattered to the ground as Lance tangled himself up in Keith, the last dregs of their milkshakes abandoned.

They made their way slowly down to Keith’s bedroom, getting distracted a few times along the way with kisses and wandering hands, until Keith finally growled, “Just get onto the damned bed, Lance.”

Lance grumbled, “Yes, sir.”

Keith’s eyes suddenly cleared up from lust into something vulnerable, and Lance touched his face gently. 

“Keith?”

“I think… I want you to fuck me this time.”

Keith was splayed out on the bed underneath Lance, who was drinking in his body with barely contained hunger.

“You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Lance mumbled, breathing stunted as he ran his fingers over Keith’s bare chest. He undid the button on Keith’s jeans, and soon they were tangled up together naked with Keith’s heart racing.

Then Lance had the lube, and he swallowed. “I’ve never done this part.”

They gently maneuvered Keith until he was kneeling with his back to Lance, encircled in his arms, Lance fidgeting restlessly as he ran his fingers over Keith’s hot skin.

“Don’t worry,” Keith took the bottle, squirting some onto his fingers, “I can show you.”

Lance felt another spike of possessiveness jab through his middle as he leaned down and placed a kiss to Keith’s shoulder, watching Keith’s lubed fingers trail down the crevice of his ass and dip experimentally into the seam, searching out an entrance.

When Keith found it Lance could feel Keith’s body tense from everywhere they were connected. Keith started and gasped barely perceptibly, swallowing and falling a little heavier back onto Lance as his fingers disappeared wetly into his own body. Lance could do nothing but hold onto him tight and watch Keith work his magic on himself.

“Ah, you want to start with one or two and move them around until I’m comfortable. Then you can add one finger at a time until I’m begging for your cock.”

Lance’s erection jumped, shifting roughly at Keith’s thighs as he tried to pay attention to the way Keith crooked and scissored and stretched himself out.

“I’m ready,” Keith whispered after a few minutes, and his lubed hand sought out Lance’s erection, both of them hissing when he found the hard member pressed against his thigh.

“Are you ready?” Lance asked.

  
  


***

  
  


“Are you ready?” 

Keith heard it a thousand times over in one second.

He heard it in Lance’s voice, and Mason’s voice. He heard it in so many other voices as well. So many partners who had asked him if he was ready. Ready to leave the restaurant or get out of bed in the morning. Ready to eat something or ready to watch something. Asking whether he was ready to have sex, ready to say goodbye.

Ready to let someone in, quite literally.

Lance was pressed right up to Keith’s back, arms wrapped around his middle with himself positioned at Keith’s entrance. 

Mason would never ask if he was ready before pushing in. Mason was the only other man who he’d let fuck him. Mason had ruined it, made bottoming something about submission and possessiveness instead of it being about deeper understanding and connection.

When he had looked at Lance earlier, standing in his doorway once again with milkshakes and a sheepish smile, Keith had found himself opening up without thinking twice about it. Now he was open, and ready, and it wasn’t Mason behind him but Lance.

Lance, who loved him. Lance, who had come into his life as a confused bisexual looking to figure himself out and somehow had become Keith’s whole world. Lance, who kissed his forehead and reassured him when he was overwhelmed and gave him space when he needed it. Lance, the man who was pressed hotly against him, waiting patiently for Keith’s words. Lance, who was stroking up and down his stomach and kissing the back of his neck now reverently, like he was praying to the idol of his body that Keith would say yes.

“Please,” Keith whimpered, wincing at how his voice came out to sound so needy.

Instead of pressing right in, Lance brought his hand up to tilt Keith’s face back, so that their foreheads were turned towards each other and their breathing intermingled. 

Then there was the burning and stretching that made Keith’s breathing stumble, and Lance froze up, hand running soothingly over Keith’s stomach again.

It was a few seconds before Keith realized that Lance had stopped because of Keith’s reaction, and was waiting for Keith to say something to reignite the flame of the moment.

“Your lover is getting bored, Lance,” he said with a playful grin, euphoria flooding him as Lance’s chest moved against his back with a chuckle, and finally Lance continued his slow press in until they were flush against each other, bodies intertwined and slick with sweat and saliva and lube. Keith felt like he was dreaming, floating somewhere far away that was beautiful. 

He’d never felt so relieved to be fucked, but as Lance started moving to press in and out, Keith’s voice pitched and he whined, desperation a coiling snake in his gut.

They were basically just shifting forward and backward together, Keith starting to bend down and Lance’s hands tugging bruisingly against Keith’s hips as their fucking became rough.

Lance was mumbling about something, and Keith didn’t have the presence of mind to pay attention, but it was something like: “almost, almost there…”

Then stars blew apart in his chest, supernovas were collected within Keith because Lance had found his sweet spot and was grinding torturously against it.

“Lance, Lance, ah, right there, please,” Keith’s voice was skipping in and out, rough and breathy, and he found himself so fucking hungry to be closer to Lance, to have them be binded more fully or assuredly. “Lance! Don’t stop, harder!”

When Lance chuckled, Keith threw an annoyed slap to Lance’s hip behind him, furious.

“I said fuck me, damnit!”

The groan was unreal, but even better was when Lance got his footing and his hand holds and started fucking Keith so painfully that he detached from his body, that he drifted through the next few minutes or hours or days like it was just supernova after supernova.

Once his entire universe was effectively blown apart, it collapsed, forming a bright, dense star that was so achingly hot and powerful that Keith screamed as he came.

“Fuck, fuck, Keith, you’re so good for me, you are so sexy like this…” Lance’s voice was almost an octave higher than usual, and his breathing on the back of Keith’s neck was heavy and quick.

Keith collapsed forward when Lance pulled out, coming in thick, hot stripes on Keith’s back, making him hum in his own pleasure at the feeling. Being marked on the outside like this was so primal and strange that Keith found his dick twitch a moment in renewed interest.

Lance collapsed next to him on his back, his thin hair falling in a lion’s mane around his bright red face, pupils dilated to an almost alarming amount.

They didn’t speak, but their hands found each other’s and Lance brought it to his lips and kissed it breathlessly.

“You are amazing,” Lance finally gasped between labored breaths.

Keith felt his heart expand in his chest, refilling the leftover space from the supernovas that Lance had set off.

“I am, aren’t I?” Keith mused

Lance looked like someone had slapped him. “Hey!”

“You were amazing, too,” Keith allowed, grinning with satisfaction at the slight dig. “I mean it. That was… you made me feel so good.”

“I didn’t know it could be this good,” Lance admitted.

“I didn’t, either.”

They both sobered up a bit in the afterglow, drifting closer together and letting the rest of the world fade away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: it's Thanksgiving in summertime, guys!
> 
> If you like this, check out some of my other fics! I have a whole bunch. I'm sure one will catch your eye.
> 
> As always, to those who comment and share and support me more directly, I'm incredibly and eternally grateful for you. Getting a sweet comment makes my whole day :D


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance visit Adam's family for the annual Turkey Day Extravaganza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fam! I published a book!!!!! It's self published and isn't going to win any awards or prizes but I'm proud of myself.
> 
> This is an interlude chapter, but that's not to say that it isn't important! It's just signifying the general close of the "Mason" and "getting together" section of this fic.
> 
> I had a blast writing Adam's family. I hope you guys enjoy it just as much.
> 
> I just want to say, again, how grateful I am to all of you for sticking with me through this story. It's a delight to write this fic. It challenges me, it motivates me, and most importantly it's all about two of my favorite characters. Comments, kudos, and shares mean the world to me. If you like this fic, let me know<3
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defenders

Lance and Keith were watching cartoons the next morning. They both were balancing bowls of cereal on their knees, having a lively debate about whether or not aliens would ever bother to come to earth.

“Why would aliens give a shit about us, Keith?”

“I don’t think you understand. There has been evidence for years that aliens have already come to earth.”

Lance snorted, shaking his head as he took a bite of cereal. “What are you, a conspiracy theorist?”

Keith’s glare was laser-sharp. “It isn’t a conspiracy if it’s true.”

“Oh my god, you have to be shitting me,” Lance squealed like a little girl, playfully nudging Keith’s side with his bare foot, “You actually believe in all that cryptid, supernatural, alien stuff, don’t you?”

“Shut up,” Keith’s face turned red, “It’s… personal. My dad always used to say that my mother was from another world.”

That shut up Lance really quick as he realized that this conversation wasn’t as lighthearted as it had been. “Have you ever met your mother?”

“Yeah,” Keith said softly, “It’s all kind of a blur, though. My dad used to say that she couldn’t visit because she was too busy protecting the rest of the universe. I know that it’s bullshit, but…”

“Alright, I’m game now. Aliens  _ do  _ exist, and by the transitive property of alien DNA you are one. Are you going to abduct me Keith?”

Rolling his eyes, Keith blushed. “I never said that I was an alien.”

“No, this is fun,” Lance chided, “Are you going to eat me in my sleep? I already know that you’re down to probe me, so…”

That earned a handful of fruit loops to the face, but Lance was still grinning stupidly. Keith would liken his bright smile to the reflection of midday over Caribbean waters. That was the only reason why his next words were, “You caught me, earthling.”

“This explains so much,” Lance’s cheek pressed against the back of the couch, “I always thought that you were attractive, but little did I know that it was otherworldly.”

Keith growled with annoyance but kissed Lance anyway, biting his lip gently. “You’re ridiculous.”

Lance bumped his shoulder against Keith, settling back into the show they were watching. 

As they watched, Keith pressed his mouth against Lance’s shoulder to kiss him, mouthing into the fabric, “Only for you.”

  
  


***

  
  


Keith sat nervously in the waiting room at the local precinct, Shiro reading through some of his student’s lab reports to his left.

“I don’t understand,” Shiro began slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose, “How my students still get celcius, farenheit, and kelvin confused. Also,  _ clearly _ if your yield is 3 grams but you calculated it to be 300 then something was wrong with your math!”

Squinting at Shiro, Keith muttered, “I’m not even going to pretend to understand that gibberish.”

“Not gibberish,” Shiro interrupted, “Science. Or, at least what  _ I _ do is science. These kids are definitely writing gibberish.”

“Mm-hmm,” Keith mumbled, nervously wiggling his foot.

“Hey, deep breath, okay? It’s going to be fine.”

“No, it’s not, but I appreciate you trying,” Keith responded while cracking each bone in his fingers. “Last time I was here they reamed me for not pressing charges.”

“You only have to do what you want to do, Keith,” Shiro reminded him, “If you want to press charges on Mason, you’re in a good position to do it. If you don’t want to then we’ll figure out a game plan from there.”

It wasn’t so easy to assuage Keith’s fears, though. The amount of shame that they’d subjected Keith to last time was still etched into his memory.

They took Keith’s testimony. Shiro had already filled the police in on most of it, including sending them the photos and testifying himself. The case was already on file previously, and it took almost no time to reopen it.

“The emergency protective order will be valid starting this afternoon which is immediately. Unfortunately, though, in order for it to extend you need to press charges of some sort on him so that you can formally file for a restraining order.”

Wincing, Keith nodded and left with Shiro.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Shiro asked in the car, and Keith shook his head. 

Then after a few minutes Keith whispered, “Is it stupid that I still don’t want to get him in trouble? Is it stupid that I feel like a traitor for going to the police again?”

Shiro bit his lip. “It’s not stupid, Keith. It’s understandable. You were under his thumb for a long time. Even with all that therapy it’s impossible to completely change your mindset.”

A beat passed.

“Do you want to press…”

“No!” Keith shouted, surprising himself with the intensity of his reaction. Shiro started, eyes widening as he focused back on the road. “Shiro, I…”

“It’s okay.”

They rode back to Keith’s house in silence.

  
  


***

  
  


Hunk and Katie were on their way back from grabbing coffee when they saw Lance at his desk, 

focused very carefully on something. It was almost time for their shift to be over, and Lance was on his phone. Apparently work wasn’t keeping his attention, and his friends had two guesses why.

“They’re disgusting,” Katie bemoaned fondly.

“We should be supportive,” Hunk proposed, but when they both looked at each other with devilish grins.

The two of them were surprisingly quiet as they went about setting up their prank. Lance almost always listened to music while working anyway, so they had a little wiggle room for tiny noises here and there. They very quietly took every stool in the lab and set them up behind Lance’s desk, effectively trapping him in. They then duct taped the stools together, handing each other the tape quietly while hunched over.

Lance was still too focused on his phone to notice.

They were halfway through putting plastic wrap behind the stools when Lance looked up at the clock and smiled.

They both ran back to their seats, pretending to do their work as Lance got up, turned around, and squealed like a stuck pig.

“What the hell, guys!?” he yelled, “I’m supposed to be heading over to Keith’s!”

“We know,” Katie said with amusement, watching Lance’s face morph and twist through so many different emotions, “It’s basically your house too now, isn’t it?”

“No! Hey, can you guys help me…Pidgeon, come on!”

She looked at the clock. “Oh no, I have to go home and... study.”

“You already do that all the time!”

“Can’t help you, bud,” she said, ducking out of the room with Hunk right behind her.

“Hunk, my best friend, you can’t leave me like this.”

Shrugging, Hunk said, “I have to get home to my fiance, who is currently in wedding hell. Can’t help you.”

Lance groaned, kicking at the shockingly sturdy pile of stools.

Grumbling about asshole friends, Lance carefully removed the duct tape from all the stools, and took down the plastic wrap carefully. He piled the duct tape and plastic wrap chunks onto the desks of the perpetrators, and texted Keith.

_ I’m on my way. _

  
  


***

  
  


When Lance got to Keith’s, the other man pulled him into the house roughly and kissed him.

“What’s the hurry?” Lance asked, smiling into the kiss.

“I want you to come to Thanksgiving this year.”

Stunned, Lance leaned back, searching Keith’s face. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Keith touched the back of his neck nervously, taking a step away. “We celebrate with people from Adam and Shiro’s sides of the family. It’s a packed house, and I know you probably have other plans…”

“No, I never do,” Lance admitted, shutting the door behind him. “I can only really get back to Cuba for one of the holidays, and I usually choose Christmas. Thanksgiving was usually just Angela and I marathoning a tv show and drowning in snacks.”

At the mention of Angela Keith stiffened a bit, but relaxed a second later as if he reminded himself that Angela wasn’t a problem anymore.

“Alright, well we drive down to Adam’s parents place Wednesday night and come back Friday morning. Want to ride with us?”

Lance’s heart swelled at the thought of spending Thanksgiving with a real group of people. He hadn’t done that since he moved to LA. “I would love to.”

  
  


***

  
  


Keith spent the next week keeping himself busy. He stayed with his workout regimen, and went to all the shoots that he’d signed up to do. He asked Lance for a little space because as much as he cared about Lance, spending so much constant time together was starting to itch under his skin in the worst way.

So when Wednesday afternoon came, and he was throwing his duffel bag into Adam’s SUV, his heart leapt when he heard the familiar hum of Lance’s car.

Adam turned around and his gaze softened, watching Lance climb out of the car and almost falling onto the pavement. “He really makes you happy, doesn’t he?”

Turning to Adam, he saw that Adam’s face was melted into something almost resembling vulnerable. “Yeah, he does.”

“Good,” Adam coughed, turning around and dropping the emotion. Keith felt gangly arms wrap around him like tentacles and growled as he was pulled backwards into a sloppy, wonderfully dizzy kiss.

“How was your me time?” Lance asked, pressing his forehead against Keith’s.

“Enlightening,” Keith admitted. “I’m not used to having someone around me all the time. It was nice to recharge so that I can spend more time with you this weekend.”

“Hmm, that sounds good to me,” Lance grinned, then broke apart to grab his bag from his trunk and lock his car in Shiro and Adam’s driveway. “How long will the ride be, anyway?”

“Two hours, more or less,” Shiro popped his head out of the garage, and Keith laughed at the newly dyed hair on Shiro’s head, completely black.

“Who are you and what did you do with white haired mohawk Shiro?!” Lance gasped, and Shiro sighed. 

“It’s Margaret,” Shiro explained, but Lance was still staring dumbfounded at Shiro’s even hair color. “Adam’s mother can be… a tad judgemental. For her it’s bad enough that her son is gay, let alone dating a gay guy with dyed hair and tattoos and a prosthetic arm. I can only change one of those things, so…”

“I tell him every year that he should dye it something far more outrageous. I’d love to see my mother squirm.”

Lance was suddenly nervously picking at his nails. “Oh, is she homophobic?”

“Not at all,” Adam chuckled, patting Lance on the back. “She just loves an excuse to gossip and judge. She’s like this with all the straight couples in the family, too. She just picks different things to complain about with each one.”

“Oh,” Lance’s hands were shaking a bit, and Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Are you alright?” Keith asked, taking one of Lance’s hands in his.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Lance admitted, and he shook his head to clear it as they all piled into the car.

Shiro had a surprisingly angsty early 2000’s alternative playlist going for most of the trip before Adam unplugged him when they were closer to Adam’s aunt’s house. 

He started playing some heavy metal before Shiro knocked him in the shoulder. “Play something… heteronormative.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I love getting my mother riled up, you know this.”

“I love having a peaceful family holiday.”

Lance had fallen asleep against Keith within twenty minutes. It was almost adorable how quickly a car ride knocked him out. Keith drew his fingers through Lance’s short hair, loving the warmth and weight of him passed out against him.

“Wake the baby, will you? I’m sure he doesn’t want to meet everything with drool on his chin.”

Chuckling, Keith poked Lance’s cheek until he startled awake, looking around in a blind panic.

Then a name slipped out of his mouth that threw Keith’s body into a tense nausea.

“Angela?”

The two in the front seat, who had previously been bickering, shut up immediately as Lance realized where he was and who he was with.

“I had the craziest dream,” Lance yawned, wiping his hand over his face, “Angela turned into a bird and I couldn’t catch her to change her back.”

“Odd,” Shiro agreed a little too quickly. “We’re almost there, by the way.”

  
  


***

  
  


Within minutes they were pulling up to Adam’s aunt’s lake house, and people were already gathered on the lawn that wrapped around the whole property. Little kids were blowing bubbles and a few adults were talking over glasses of sangria, passing around hot dogs and burgers.

When they climbed out, Adam yelled, “Thanks for waiting, everyone!”

Someone, a woman, stuck her tongue out at Adam. “We were hungry. It’s not our fault that you were late.”

“You guys said seven thirty,” Adam defended, frowning.

One of the kids piped up, “Mama said you were supposed to be here at five.”

There was a cheer from a group of men standing by the grill, and one of them grabbed a beer and charged over to Adam. 

Keith looked over at Lance, who was completely overwhelmed by the family repartee. “They do this thing around the holidays that every time someone gets something wrong they have to chug a beer.”

A slow grin was growing on Lance’s face, though. “That’s so strange. I kind of love it.”

They watched with amusement as Adam poked a hole in the bottom of the can and shotgunned it, people around him encouraging him on.

When Adam was done, he held the empty can up in victory.

“Happy now?”

“Nah,” someone clapped him on the shoulder who was basically a much burlier, hairier Adam. “We’re always miserable bastards. Things like this just fill the cavernous void in our hearts.”

There was silence amongst the group, and Keith asked, “Have you guys been hanging out in the philosophy department, too?”

Adam and Shiro laughed, and what must be Adam’s father came over and clapped Keith on the back. “It’s good to see you, kid. It’s always great to have my best wide receiver on the team Thanksgiving morning.”

“Wide receiver?” Lance asked, “Do you guys play football?”

“Flag football,” Adam’s dad amended, “Otherwise us old guys wouldn’t be able to walk for a week. So you’re one of Keith’s friends?”

The two of them froze up. They completely forgot to talk about this and what they would be to each other this weekend for the family. A sense of dread filled Lance that he’d never experienced before, and it sat heavy in his gut and made him want to take a step back from everyone.

Instead, Keith took his hand confidently, and said, “This is Lance, my boyfriend.”

_ Oh no. Oh no no no nononononoono _ .

“Speaking of Lance,” he interjected before anyone could react, “I have to use the bathroom! Can someone point it out to me?”

“Yeah, I got you,” Adam lead Lance towards the house, leaving the gathering of people hanging. 

When they got into the air conditioning, the first thing Lance noticed was the warm, smoky scent of barbecue seasonings and freshly finished wood floors. It cleared Lance’s head for a second so that he could calm down.

“Fuck, fuck I didn’t… why am I freaking out?” Lance looked up at Adam, panicking and confused and confused about panicking in the first place.

Adam studied him like he was trying to riddle something out, and then nodded knowingly. “Okay, I get it now. You’re not used to being gay.”

Blinking, Lance stopped pacing, taking a second to stare openly at Adam. “What?”

“You’ve been in a heterosexual relationship your whole life. You’ve never had to go into a situation with the concern that your sexuality might be judged unfairly.”

“I… no, I haven’t felt that way before now, and I’ve met plenty of people with Keith.”

“No, you’ve met people who are safe. Let’s be honest, our friend group is pretty liberal altogether. This is uncharted waters.”

Lance fisted his hair, “So what do I do?”

“Be straight again,” Adam shrugged, and then Lance glared at him.

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I,” suddenly Adam was holding himself higher, high enough that Lance felt dwarfed, “Dating someone that isn’t perceived as ‘normal’ is very stressful. It’s not something that goes away, you just get used to feeling that way. So if you want to keep seeing Keith, you’re going to have to suck it up for him.”

Lance sobered up real fast, the feeling in his gut tightening. “That isn’t helping.”

“I know,” Adam admitted, shaking his head and frowning, “Sorry, it only takes seconds for my family’s fucked up ‘just get over it’ philosophy to sink back in. Why don’t I get you a beer, and you can walk back out there on your own? Don’t talk about you and Keith, just keep the conversation off of you so you can actually get to know these people. They’re my family, and they’re , but they’re a lovable bunch of assholes. If you need to dip, just tell them that you have allergies and need to go inside for a bit.”

“Where’s Shiro’s family?” Lance inquired, curious suddenly.

“They only come for the day of, but they’re always here for the football game if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me I was going to be playing football?!”

Someone came in the screen door, and Lance looked to see Keith smiling at Adam and him, with Adam’s father patting his shoulder. The two of them heard Lance’s exclamation and started laughing.

“You don’t just walk onto the field, dude. Tryouts are brutal.”

“Tryouts?!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “It took me two years to gain a spot on a team. You’re likely just going to be spectating. You can be my cheerleader.”

Keith’s smug smirk made Lance growl with annoyance. “I’m not a cheerleader you asshole.”

“I don’t know, you’ve got the lanky build and you’ve always got so much energy…”

Lance pouted, taking a step away. “Not funny.”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” Keith said honestly, eyes widening and taking a step towards Lance, taking his hand. “Lots of people watch. They drink hot chocolate and roast marshmallows…”

Having Keith’s hand in his usually soothed Lance right down to his core, but right now the feeling of Keith’s hand was skyrocketing his anxiety. He pulled away gently, trying not to make a scene.

He saw the hurt on Keith’s face, though, and Adam’s dad invited them all to come outside to have some food.

Lance could practically feel the vibrating fear and confusion from Keith, but there was nothing he could do to assuage his fears. Lance was in his own strange, new personal hell.

Luckily, as Lance walked out with a beer and nibbled on some chips, Adam’s family was extremely friendly. It was nice to watch Keith smile and laugh with them, and for Shiro to lift up the kids and play with them. None of them batted an eye at Shiro and Adam when they kissed or touched, and Lance slowly adjusted to these uncharted waters.

He found himself with Adam’s father and his mother, who was much different than he expected. His mother was a witty woman, taller than his father with pin-straight blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. Her voice was charming and nuanced, sucking Lance into whatever she was talking about. 

What Adam said started to make sense now that he’d listened to her for a while. Her affections and compliments were as numerous as her criticisms. When Lance and her started talking, she smiled widely, blue eyes brightening as she said, “It’s nice to meet you! I’m so happy that you came. We always love guests.”

“Thank you,” Lance said, confidence and charm starting to build back up. This is what Adam meant, then. Just letting himself grow accustomed to the discomfort until it was just background noise. “I’m honored to be meeting the queen of our festivities.”

Giggling, she touched her husband’s arm and looked at him goofily. “Honey, you could take some pointers from this young man.”

“Great, you’ve given her ideas,” Adam’s father rolled his eyes but didn’t lose his smile. Loveable assholes, indeed.

“It’s too bad you’re gay, dear, or I’d just snatch you right up!” she pinched his cheek then, and he felt the discomfort come back to full blast.

It took a few seconds before Lance finally responded, “I’m actually pretty sure I’m bi.”

The two of them took a beat, watching Lance curiously. “Alright then, dear. I’m sorry to make assumptions.”

“You’re alright,” Lance felt the overwhelming dread fade again. This was something he would have to get used to, then. He could do that for Keith, and for himself, too. “It’s all very confusing to me too. So I would love if you gave me all the inside tips on schmoozing Adam’s other relatives.”

Margaret handed her empty margarita glass to her husband. “David, get me a refill. This conversation needs more alcohol.”

  
  


***

  
  


Margaret was talking animatedly to Lance, and Keith shifted uncomfortably. He was playing corn hole with Shiro, Adam, and one of Adam’s cousins, but his gaze kept drifting back to Lance.

It was stupid, but… Keith always imagined someone being here with him. Whenever he comes to Thanksgiving with the Wilson family, he sees all the couples and imagines being here with someone he cares about. He imagined them facing off against Shiro and Adam in cornhole, and walking around introducing him to everyone. It was a fantasy that couldn’t have been possible with Mason, but Lance… he thought Lance and him were solid.

Apparently he thought wrong.

“Hey, get your head out of your ass!” Adam’s cousin Henry yelled from across the field of play. “We’re getting creamed by the honeymooners over here!”

“No, please, continue to stare longingly at your boyfriend. It’s great for us,” Adam cheered, and Shiro laughed next to him.

The family was divided up. There were three great aunts and Adam’s grandfather that all usually sat together and nursed club sodas. Then there were the older adults, like Margaret and David, along with Reya and John (married, aunt/uncle) and Kit and Tonya (married, aunt/uncle).

Then there were the cousins, most of which ranged anywhere from two to thirty. 

Henry was one of the older ones, and one of the best at games like this. Keith usually paired up with him, but he was hoping… no, it was silly. Keith’s expectations were too high.

They got back to the game, Keith feeling himself settle into a wallow.

  
  


***

  
  


“Shiro and Adam started dating when they were twenty,” Margaret said proudly, “their relationship is almost ten years old. They’ve had their troubles, of course. We didn’t expect Shiro to come with a plus one in addition to his whole family… of course we love Keith, though. He’s good with the kids, he keeps up with everyone during football, and he always helps to clean up. Most importantly of all, though, is that he makes excellent mixed drinks.”

“How long has Keith been coming?”

“Since Shiro’s family brought him along to our first Thanksgiving all together. After all they weren’t formally family, but Shiro always made sure to bring Keith to these things. Shiro is kind like that. I’m also impressed that he covered up his skunk hair for me. That’s how much he loves my son.”

Lance was dumbfounded. How could Adam imply that Margaret was judgemental? She seemed so genuine and sweet.

“Keith’s like family, anyway. So how long have you two been dating?”

Taking a sip of his beer, Lance decided to screw Adam’s suggestion. “We didn’t start dating until recently, but we’ve known each other for a few months. He took me by surprise, actually. We were casual and then one day we… weren’t anymore.”

Margaret cocked her head to the side. “Casual how?”

“Oh,” Lance blushed, “Well you see we, um, were friendly and…” but Margaret was already wearing a shit eating grin.

“So you were lovers first?”

Lance’s hand tightened on his beer, but then he relaxed again. She’s done nothing to indicate that she cared either way. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

The sun was tucking itself in for the night as Lance helped the family clean up outdoors, everyone filing inside for dessert and apparently a romcom. 

Keith found Lance with two bowls of ice cream, looking a little nervous. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Lance found himself finally releasing all the tension and let himself take the ice cream and peck Keith on the cheek.

“Ew!” one of Adam’s youngest cousins shrieked, “kissing is gross! It will give you cooties!”

“Are you sure? If so, I can kiss your cheek and give you cooties, too,” Keith said in a monster voice, leaving Lance to chase after the little girl.

“How are you holding up?” Adam asked, coming over and patting Lance on the back. “I saw you talking with my mother. Was she clueing you into all the drama?”

“No actually,” Lance responded, feeling a little smug, “She wasn’t like that with me at all. We actually had a good heart to heart.”

“Uh-oh,” Adam gripped Lance’s arm. “What did you tell her?”

“Just about Keith and I, nothing scandalous. She was being perfectly pleasant to me, anyway.”

“It’s all just a trap to lull you into a false sense of security,” Adam said, suddenly shooting a suspicious glare to his mother. “We need to keep an eye on what you say to her.”

“It’ll be fine,” Lance insisted, taking a bite of ice cream, “Nothing I said can be misinterpreted.”

“If you say so,” Adam grumbled as Shiro came over to join them.

“What’s this about?”

“Lance talked to Margaret.”

Shiro almost choked on his drink. “What did you say?”

Lance was getting less and less confident about confiding in her. “I just… not even that much, guys, come on.”

“I hope you’re right,” Shiro said, warning in his tone.

Keith had caught the cousin in question and was tickling her, and Lance’s heart melted a little bit. There was something altogether pure and precious about watching someone be good to children. The way that Keith’s eyes lit up made his breath catch.

“When are we getting some of those, by the way?” Margaret pointed at Keith, holding one of the toddlers into the air. “You two need to start popping them out.”

Shiro and Adam both had contradictory reactions, where Shiro became confused and Adam just became annoyed. “Mom, it’s a sensitive subject for Shiro. We have been trying  _ really hard  _ for a while and he hasn’t conceived yet. I think we need to adopt.”

Everyone was raucous after that, Margaret shouting about the children’s innocence, and Henry making loud gestures about how they might just need to accept that they weren’t built for this.

Lance eventually was joined by Keith again, and he felt a warm arm encircle him. When Lance looked up, Keith was so vibrantly alive that it disarmed Lance completely, turning him into a bumbling mess as Keith leaned in for a kiss.

He didn’t have time to worry about it this time, and so it washed sluggishly over him and set his nerves to rest.

“Hey, you. Want to go to our room?”

Lance’s head cocked to the side. “We get our own room?”

“I always do,” Keith said, “Most have to share, but Adam’s aunt knows that I need my space.”

“Which one is the aunt, anyway?” Lance asked, their heads bent together and bodies sparking electricity along the sides of their thighs rubbing together.

“The one with the glasses and a crossword puzzle,” Keith pointed without caring for formalities, and Lance was stunned to see that there was, in fact, a woman like that at their festivities. “She’s similar to me. She likes to be around everyone, but needs to take breaks. Usually she plays host on Thanksgiving, so the day before she rests.”

Another spark shot up Lance’s arm, and he got distracted from their reluctant hostess and traced his line of sight down to Keith’s unfairly plump and kissable lower lip. “You were saying about our room?”

  
  


***

  
  


There were jeers at them as they set out to the other side of the cabin. It always surprised Keith how huge the property was, and how many people the cabin could sleep. Keith once tried to count every available place to sleep, but got so turned around that he kept losing track. There was one room he knew by heart, though, and his body hummed in recognition the closer him and Lance got to it.

They banged open the door to Keith’s room, throwing their bags on the ground, a much more pressing matter entangling them. Keith slammed the door, and Lance pounced on him, pinning him against the smooth, polished wood.

“Do we need to be quiet?” Lance asked, face hovering an inch from Keith’s in a predatory way.

“Have you heard them down there? Plus we’re on the third floor… I think,” Keith was quickly distracted, however, by Lance tugging feverishly at Keith’s shirt.

There were so many ways to describe Lance’s eyes, Keith thought dazedly as the other man dropped to his knees. He was still an amateur at blow jobs but made up for the lack of skill with unbridled enthusiasm. As he swallowed Keith down, making Keith hiss desperately, Lance was making unwavering eye contact with him.

It was so hot, watching Lance watch him. Every minute facial expression, every gasp and twitch and aborted thrust was being taken in by those baby blues. 

Keith thought about Lance’s eyes as the sky above, full of possibilities. He thought of Lance’s eyes as piercing and electric, their charge jumping with sexual pleasure. Lance’s eyes were as vibrant as a tropical bird, as cool as ice, and so many analogies and metaphors that were starting to slip away from Keith because Lance had just licked partially down his perineum and he saw stars.

When Keith came, he very immediately threw Lance onto the bed and crawled on top of him, the pleasure soothing him but also clearing his head long enough to ask a question.

“What was that earlier?” Keith asked, hands firmly locked on Lance’s wrists.

Whimpering, Lance tried to thrust up against Keith’s leg. “Keith, babe, now is not a great time.”

“You flinched when I touched you,” Keith’s voice grew smaller with the words, “you looked like you were going to throw up when I called you my boyfriend.”

“Well, we never really… is that what we are?”

The moment froze. There was uncertainty hovering between them, and one of them had to break the tension and say it.

So it was Keith that said, “Yeah, I like to think so.”

Then the tension popped like champagne, and in the fizzy happiness afterward Lance pulled Keith down into a ravenous kiss. “Good. Plus, I like your family.”

The words were so startling to Keith that he almost stopped kissing down Lance’s chest, but instead only hesitated for a second before continuing to track down.

_ Your family. _

It was true, wasn’t it? He had his room for Thanksgiving, and he wasn’t just Shiro’s plus one anymore. Adam’s family had taken Keith in and loved him when he thought he was alone in the world. 

Now they were taking Lance in, too.

A phrase was burning a hole in Keith’s subconscious, making him squirm happily and with embarrassment. Lance didn’t mind, though, with Keith’s lips and tongue making a popsicle stick mess of his cock.

_ Keith’s family, your family _ …

_ Keith’s family. _

_ Our family _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: a football game, a game of hide 'n' seek, and antics from Adam's mother
> 
> If you like this, check out some of my other fics! I've got SO MANY


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance meets the rest of Adam's family, as well as Shiro's family, and plays hide and seek. Later, he meets with his sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving in August, folks!
> 
> Here's some fluffy plot and sibling bonding.
> 
> As usual, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender

When Lance woke up the next morning, it was to the strangest sensation of ice cubes on his chest, and as he opened his sleep-addled eyes and his brain tried to interpret what was happening, it became clear that they had been pranked. Two of the cousins darted from the room conspicuously, and Lance wondered, horrified, if they’d seen he was completely naked under the covers.

Keith took another beat to realize that he had ice melting on his neck before it slid down and hit his shoulder, making him shoot up and growl about retaliation and revenge.

“Those little shits…”

“Keith, they’re like, twelve. Also I’m sure we’ve scarred them enough today.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “They don’t care that we were naked. They’re evil.”

Then when they took a second, and Lance took in Keith’s messed up hair and the flat planes of his chest against the dark blue sheets and was lost in the sight.

Waking up with Angela was always a cocoon of love and warmth, soft and steady. It was something that could easily lull Lance back into a happy slumber. 

Waking up with Keith is almost unreal, a sharp knock to his gut. He hadn’t slept next to Keith in days, and as Keith got out of bed and went to throw the ice cubes in the bathroom sink, he couldn’t help but remember why he found the other man so irresistible.

Lance was still a little awestruck when Keith came back out, completely naked, cock hanging flaccid and heavy. “What?”

“Have I ever told you that your ass is a work of art?”

Keith winked and walked to their suitcases. “We have to get ready.”

“It’s early,” Lance complained as a shirt was thrown at him.

“You’re rooting for my team, so here’s the the shirt I had from last year. Same color, different team name”

Picking up the purple pinny, he frowned and read, “ _ David’s Dumbasses?” _

That earned him a chuckle. “The captains are Adam and his dad. Adam’s team is green, and they’re usually something weird as well. I think last time they were the  _ Adam Bombs. _ ”

Smiling, Lance knew that the morning would be a good one.

  
  


***

  
  


Lance was standing with his purple t-shirt and a five-year-old on his shoulders. The competitors were currently stretching and warming out on the field. The purple team was sporting pinnies with the team name  _ David’s Bridal. _ Everyone on their team was in a veil or bow tie. Adam’s green team was called  _ Prime Slime Time _ .

“Who comes up with these?” Lance asked Margaret, who was busy pouring Frangelico into everyone’s hot cocoas.

“Usually everyone votes for it. Most of the time they pick the stupidest option just for fun.”

Nodding, Lance tapped the shin of the kid on his shoulder. “Which team do you want to be on some day?”

The girl pointed excitedly to Keith. “I want to be on his team! He’s the coolest. He taught me how to play wiffle ball and also how to contour makeup.”

“They’re learning young now, huh?” Lance laughed, and the other bystanders were off on a rant about “kids these days” while the game set up in front of them.

When the game started, Lance was taken aback by the intensity considering how many people were wearing wedding regalia. Shiro and Adam were a powerhouse, taunting and goading and outrunning everyone. Shiro was the quarterback, and was surprisingly good at throwing the ball considering that one of his arms was a prosthetic.

What Adam and Shiro had as quarterback and offensive lineman was matched, however. David was also an excellent quarterback, and Keith was as quick as a whip on wide receiver with deft hands.

Shiro’s family had arrived before the game began. His mother quickly set up a griddle to make breakfast sandwiches and his father hopped onto Shiro’s team quickly. There was someone else with the group, too. By the looks of it she was around 10, with the same determined look that Shiro always walked around with.

The three of them had been hanging off to the side and making small talk for the most part. When the game started Shiro’s mom went out onto his and Adam’s team, ready to go.

Lance found himself watching Shiro’s dad and sister quietly. A tiny bubbling of resentment started forming in his gut, resentment that up until now he didn’t even realize he had. These were the people that fostered Keith and gave him back up because they were expecting another baby.

They’d stayed in touch and essentially treated him like family, but… they had abandoned Keith.

How was he supposed to spend the whole holiday with them?

  
  


***

  
  


Adam’s family were a raucous bunch of assholes, but Lance was starting to understand why he called them “loveable assholes”. 

They teased each other and showed constant affection. They ensured that they included everyone in games and activities. The game of charades had every single one of them yelling around the den. During dinner time they passed around each dish to ensure that everyone had a chance to grab some. There was music and quite a few additional beers chugged from the “if you’re caught wrong” rule.

During dessert, Lance was munching on Keith’s apple pie he made when Adam’s younger cousin, the one who was on Lance’s shoulders earlier, Erin, asked the question that stopped Lance’s heart.

“Where’s Mason, Keith? Did you guys break up?”

The table froze. Half of them looked grave, their expressions giving away that they knew at least a fraction of the truth. The other half were watching Keith expectantly, waiting for him to enlighten them.

Keith’s fork clattered to his plate with key lime pie still on it.

“Erin, sweetie…” Adam’s aunt chastised, but Keith shook his head and held up his hand for her to stop.

“Mason and I weren’t happy together, so we broke up. I’m dating Lance now.”

“I like Lance,” she decided then, chubby cheeks squishing as she threw him a wide grin, “he’s fun. You should keep him.”

Chuckling, emotions welling up but being shushed inside of Keith, he took Lance’s hand and held it tightly. “I’m going to try.”

After dessert the kids were playing hide and seek outside, a few of the adults tagging along. Lance rushed out into the woods, ending up behind a boulder. As he backed up, he heard a growl of “hey, I’m already here!” and turned to see none other than Shiro’s sister glaring at him from within the bush next to the boulder.

“You’re in the bush, I’m behind the rock. We can both be here.”

“No, your hiding space will bring them over here. You’re bigger and you stick out more. I’m not losing because of you.”

Lance bristled. The man who usually had endless patience for children was suddenly unequipped to respond appropriately to this kid.

It was the same kind of black and white stubbornness that Shiro had sometimes. Lance swallowed, and then said, “Okay, I’ll move…” before the seeker yelled out that he was looking.

“Alright, fine, but you better not mess this up,” her eyes, constantly narrowed in dissent, glinted against the glimmer of the back porch light.

Lance could feel the buzzing of nature in his body. The trees were hushing, leaves against leaves, the bugs were humming their way through their evening routine, and Lance glanced over and saw a very dedicated little girl trying to make herself as small as possible in a bush.

In only a few moments he heard the seeker nearby, yelling, “I think someone is behind the tree…”

In a split second he made a decision, and jumped out from behind the tree, walking away from the bush. “Oh no, you caught me!”

The rest of the game went on without anyone finding the little girl in the bush, and eventually they had to hoist the white flag. When Shiro’s sister ran out of the bush, a few stray leaves and twigs in her hair, she was brimming with excitement and ran directly for Lance, barrelling into his arms.

“Thank you! You didn’t mess it up.”

Lance scoffed, patting her head gently. “I don’t know if I’ve formally met you. I’m Lance.”

Her smile was splitting her open, and turned her into something pure and innocent and… childlike. 

Lance was an adult, and he wasn’t treating this kid fairly at all.

“I’m Mikasa,” she held out her hand, and Lance took it with a soft smile.

Keith found his way over to them and pecked Lance on the cheek, ruffling Mikasa’s hair. “What’s up, nugget?”

She stuck her tongue out. “Don’t call me that, lamebrain.”

“Only if you stop being prettier than me,” Keith insisted, and Lance’s stomach and heart clenched.

“Hmm, I think I’ll pass,” she grinned up at Keith then, and Lance saw so much familial affection there. Keith was… Keith knew that this little girl is the reason that he couldn’t stay with the Shiroganes. This little girl likely was made aware of that fact, too, but they were teasing and glaring and affectionate like family.

Keith knew that it wasn’t her fault. Instead, he was grateful to have Shiro’s family in his life at all.

Love pulsed through Lance, a teary-eyed affection that made Lance want to drag Keith into the woods and smother him with kisses until Keith had even an iota of an idea of the intense awe Lance felt.

Mikasa hopped on Keith’s back as the group went inside, occasional kicking his sides playfully. “Ride, horsey!”

“Oh no,” Keith smirked, “You asked for it, now.”

Then Keith sprinted across the living room, bucking and tossing but holding Mikasa tight and safe to his body. She was squealing and the younger kids were all claiming that they wanted their turn to be next.

Lance found his way over to Margaret, who was happily digging into mint chocolate chip ice cream with a cup of earl grey tea. 

“I have to come clean about something,” Lance said then, wringing his hands, “I was warned that you were a little meaner than you are, and I want you to know that I was completely in the wrong.”

Margaret eyed him over thoughtfully, “Sit, Lance.”

He did, and she took another bite of ice cream.

“My son told you this, right?”

Swallowing, Lance debated internally whether he should throw Adam under the bus but decided that she could probably see through his lie. “...yeah, he did.”

Margaret smiled, stunning Lance. She handed him a spoon and offered the ice cream to him. He took a bite and waited for her to explain. 

“My son is an arrogant dick. He doesn’t know what he wants and when he has something wonderful he has a nasty tendency to take it for granted. It has been this way his whole life. Actually,” she paused, sucking on the spoon thoughtfully, “he had a considerate streak at age 6, so maybe not his whole life. He never liked the things he had, and he was never satisfied with his life. There was always this drive for more, better, different. I love my son but it is his fatal flaw.”

Lance was on the edge of his seat, and took another bite of ice cream.

“It was the same with his dating life. He’d date someone for a few months and then feel unsatisfied. He never wanted to settle down or appreciate what he did have. So I started… being judgemental.”

She smiled mischievously, baring her sharp white teeth. “I would tell him I didn’t like his hair, or his boyfriend, or his outfit or job. Suddenly he would get defensive and protective, and as he argued his choices to me he became more and more sure of decisions he made. It was remarkable, actually. When he started dating Shiro I made a comment about his hair or his tattoos or something and Adam lost it. He didn’t talk to me for three weeks. That was when I knew that Shiro was the one for him.”

Lance was flabbergasted. “Your family is a little weird,” he said with a tentative grin.

“We’re asshole,” she said, taking a sip of tea, “but we’re assholes together. Oh, also, don’t tell Adam. I’m still going to use that strategy to give me grandkids.”

  
  


***

  
  
  


The next morning was quiet. There was a brunch layout with mimosas and everyone was sitting around quietly eating, in varying states of dress with bags scattered about.

Lance got himself scrambled eggs and bacon, then looked over and saw Keith joking around with Adam and his dad.

Keith… he looked so happy and vibrant. Lance’s chest constricted at the sight of him. Suddenly there was a need under his skin, and he moved quickly towards Keith, placing his plate down as he walked.

When Keith saw Lance coming, his eyes widened. Lance’s face must have betrayed his intentions and determination because Keith let himself be caught up and kissed, pressed up against the cocktail bar.

Margaret wolf whistled at them.

“You couldn’t wait a few hours?” Keith asked with a healthy and happy flush to his face.

“No, you looked too irresistible.”

“Shut up,” Keith nudged him, but Lance kept him caged against the bar, their chests inches apart. “This is embarrassing.”

Lance felt that pang of fear that he had upon arrival come back like a phantom pain, and he realized win a start that he no longer cares if people saw him with Keith. “Let them look. I want everyone to know that we’re together.”

Those words softened Keith’s expression infinitesimally, and he whispered, “oh,” before being swept up into another kiss.

  
  


***

  
  


Keith had never felt so happy.

It was flooding him and overwhelming him. His chest hurt from it. He could feel it spilling out of his pores and bouncing around the room. 

Lance had to meet his sister for lunch, but when he left he’d kissed a promise of returning onto Keith’s kips.

Keith was dizzy with it. He started to shake, all of the affection and love swirling together to make a storm in his body.

He wasn’t sure what was gathering to make him so emotional, but at the moment he didn’t seem to care.

  
  


***

  
  


Veronica was tapping her foot outside of the Italian restaurant when Lance found her. She smiled brilliantly at him, and he suddenly felt odd. The last time he saw her was before the break-up.

Lance immediately went in for the hug, and she snorted, patting him reassuringly on the back. “Hey, Lance.”

Then when she pulled back she flicked him on the head, shaking her short hair back to make direct eye contact. “What did you fuck up?”

“What?” Lance squeaked, letting her follow him into the restaurant, “what makes you think I did something?”

“Angela is a fucking saint, that’s why, but…” Veronica shut up suddenly, watching Lance head over to the table with sceptical eyes.

They were seated and Veronica seemed to have let the topic go for now. They ordered wine, their conversation starting to settle around Lance like a safety blanket. This was his sister, Veronica, the one that he trusted more than anyone else in the world.

When he had no one else, he always had Veronica.

“Did you spend Thanksgiving with the Bensons this year?” Lance asked as they brought out bread. 

He took the time to butter while Veronica replied, “Yeah, they’re always super accommodating. I’m assuming you just had your usual… wait,” Veronica caught herself, clearing her throat, “What did you do for Thanksgiving?”

Blushing a bit, Lance muttered, “I spent it with my friend’s family. They were really awesome.”

“Oh,” she paused in buttering her own bread, blue eyes peering in interest, “Was it Hunk?”

Lance took a big bite of bread, shaking his head and hoping that that would end the conversation.

Veronica always spent Thanksgiving with her best friend’s family down at the Garrison base and then came up to visit Lance and Angela the weekend afterward. Lance was used to her spending the weekend with them watching bad movies and going on hikes. Without Angela, Lance wasn’t even sure how to make up for the missing person. He felt like part of him was just… gone completely.

The blow hit him low in the gut.

“Amelia and I have been running the diagnostics on the new spacecraft that we’re sending out in a few months. It’s supposed to head out to one of the satellites of Pluto. Actually, I have a confession,” she glanced down at the table, biting her lip, “I’m actually getting funded to stay in a nice hotel in the area. I’m here to recruit some people for the mission.”

Lance was stunned. “What?”

“I know that it seems weird, but they realized that I was coming up this way for the weekend of Thanksgiving anyway so they delegated me the task. I promise that we’ll still get plenty of sibling time.”

“Sure, whatever,” Lance teased, “Don’t mind me, go on and recruit for the big mission, or whatever…”

“Lance…”

“Veronica…” 

“Lance, be serious with me for a second. How bad is it?”

The question should have felt like it came out of nowhere, but Lance knew better. It had been bubbling up between them since she hugged him, and he had just been waiting for the other shoe to drop. “It wasn’t great, at first. I have some friends in the area, though. They took care of me.”

“Have you spoken to her?”

They didn’t need to use her name. It was pretty clear who Veronica were referring to. Wincing, Lance muttered, “The idea of talking to her right now makes me want to hurl, actually.”

Their wine had arrived, and Veronica took a thoughtful sip, watching her brother carefully.

“So, who is this new girl?”

Lance’s hair stood on end. What gave it away? Did he have a glow? Did she see his phone? Did someone text her?

“Uh,” he stumbled, brushing his hand through his hair nervously, “What do you mean? There isn’t anyone.”

“Lance,” she chided, “come on, I know you. You look way too happy for someone who just broke up with their soulmate.”

The term ‘soulmate’ made Lance’s skin crawl. In fact, his fingers started twitching, wanting to scratch at his arms in order to satiate the sensation. Then, in a voice with far more conviction than he had thought possible, he asserted, “She wasn’t my soulmate.”

It was loud enough to make some of the patrons nearby halt their conversation and look over at the two of them curiously. Veronica sat back, stunned, her wine left abandoned on her table.

“Never mind,” Lance sniffed, head swimming. He hadn’t said that out loud, or even admitted that Angela wasn’t his soulmate. Now that it was out in the world it was real, and it meant… “Angela and I aren’t getting back together, Veronica. Period.”

“Hey,” her voice was stern yet gentle, “I love you no matter what, you know that, right?”

Tears had gathered in his eyes, and he blinked them away. “Yeah, I know.”

They took a few moments of silence to decide on what they wanted and they ordered, Lance running his finger over the design on the stem of the wine glass.

“I just want to understand, Lance. If… if there is a new girl, did you fall for her and it came between you? Did Angela cheat, instead? I can’t imagine that anything other than that could have gotten between you two.”

The image of Keith between them, fucking Angela while Lance fondled him and brought him to orgasm flashed in his mind, and he couldn’t help but chuckle darkly.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Lance, please…”

“Just tell me if there is a girl. You’ve got this glow, and I just want to know…”

“...there is no girl…”

“Then explain to me what happened!”

“We lost it,” Lance’s voice shook, “Our spark, or passion, or whatever. Something wasn’t right. We were drifting apart, and losing interest, and we were only together because we loved each other, not because we wanted to be. It fell apart so slowly that I didn’t even know how much damage was done until it was far too late.”

The patrons grew quiet again. It seemed that everyone nearby was completely enraptured by the conversation Lance and his sister were having, and Lance could care less.

“So… no girl?”

“No girl, Veronica,” Lance’s stomach dropped out, his whole body tingling as he realized what he wanted to say. “No girl came between us. No one, period.”

“Then why do you have hickeys?”

Lance’s face lit up, his hand coming to his neck. How did he not see them!? No wonder she’d been hassling him to explain his situation. 

“That’s a guilty face,” Veronica pointed her fork at him as their food was placed between them. “If she didn’t come between you two, I’m assuming she came after the breakup?”

“Uh, no, there wasn’t any girl after the breakup…”

“...then explain…”

“...there was a guy.”

It was dead silent for a second as Veronica’s face went through a wild array of emotions. They started off victorious that Lance admitted that there was someone, then shifted to confused, then shifted to recognition, then to quizzical. When she was done, she glared at the people around them who had all stopped eating and were watching their interaction with interest.

They stared at each other, the silence stretching wider and wider between them until Lance was almost choking on the distance.

“Say something,” he finally begged. He hadn’t… he realized that he hadn’t really come out to anyone. His friends just accepted Keith’s existence. Adam’s family didn’t assume anything different about Lance seeing as him and Keith were dating. 

Without realizing it or planning for it, he had formally come out of the closet.

Veronica’s eyes softened at Lance’s frantic tone. “What did I say earlier?”

“That I had hickeys?”

“No,” she sighed, then offered him a small smile. “I love you no matter what. That includes you dating a guy, bro. I just want you to be happy.”

The relief was violently tearing through Lance, and he started laughing, tears falling.

“I… I need a minute,” he swallowed, “Let’s just… eat.”

Lance was cycling through emotions quickly, going from relief to renewed panic to grateful to untempered love for his sister.

He was halfway through his meal before he remembered what he was eating. He drank a lot of water and tried to summon up the words to describe what was happening inside of him.

When they finished, Veronica ordered them another round of wine. “So what’s his name?”

“Keith,” Lance answered immediately, his chest aching with excitement. “His name is Keith.”

“Is he good to you? Are you guys disgustingly adorable?”

“I wouldn’t call us disgustingly adorable…”

She hummed, chuckling. “That means that you guys most certainly are. Oh, um…” she trailed off, taking another sip of wine, “so do you identify as gay, now?”

“No! Whoa, no, I don’t… no,” Lance hadn’t realized how strongly he felt about this, “I was in love with Angela. I think I’m just bisexual.”

“Alright, then. So tell me about this guy. Also please explain to him that he can’t leave you in the morning looking like you were dragged into a vampire orgy. Your neck is bruised to hell.”

“Uh… sorry?” Lance said tentatively, bashful. “We’re, uh, pretty intense.”

“Alright, then. Wait,” she froze for a second, “Are you going to come out to mom and dad?”

There was a record scratch moment where Lance remembered that just because his friends and sister accepted and loved him didn’t mean that everyone would.

“I... I don’t…” Lance’s breath was starting to stutter, and Veronica took his hand, then.

“You know what? We can worry about that later. For right now I want to hear all about how much you like this guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this, check out my other fics! I've got enough material that you could virtually get sucked into my page and then spit back out in a week. Go nuts!


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